Equation 3 · Part 1 · Comparing the Main Approaches to Scientific Instruments and Metrology

Symbol y

y = f(x_1, x_2, \ldots, x_N)

y

What this part means

y is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.

Its job in the formula

y is part of the quantity the equation computes from the expression on the right.

Full expressionSymbol yArticle meaning

The passage around this formula

…is quoted without an accompanying uncertainty, the number cannot be compared against another laboratory’s figure, however precise the instrument sounds. The combined standard uncertainty $u_c(y)$ for a measured quantity y = f( $x_1$ , $x_2$ , $\ldots$ , $x_N$ ) that is a function of several independently uncertain inputs is, to first order,

Read this part in the article →

Learn the underlying idea

A variable is a named place for a value. Its letter is a local label: x can mean position in one formula and a data point in another.

Open the illustrated variables: a letter stands for a value guide →

See this notation across published equations →

Sources cited in the surrounding passage

These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.