Equation 4 · Part 13 · Comparing the Main Approaches to Scientific Instruments and Metrology

Starting index or lower bound: i=1

u_c^2(y) = \sum_{i=1}^{N} \left( \frac{\partial f}{\partial x_i} \right)^2 u^2(x_i)

i=1

What this part means

This label says where the repeated addition, multiplication, or accumulation starts. Read its value or condition together with the article’s description of the index.

Its job in the formula

i=1 appears in the bound of this sum. The bound states where the repeated operation starts, ends, or which values it includes.

Full expressionStarting index or lower bound: i=1Article meaning

The passage around this formula

Uncertainty itself has a standard grammar, laid out in the GUM and adopted domestically by NIST in Technical Note 1297. Every source of doubt about a measured value is classified as either a Type A evaluation — estimated from the statistical scatter of repeated observations — or a Type B evaluation — estimated from any other information, such as a calibration certificate, a manufacturer’s specification, or physical reasoning about a known systematic effect [ 2 ] [ 3 ] . These component uncertainties are combined, following an explicit propagation rule, into a combined standard uncertainty, which is then multiplied by a coverage factor (conventionally k=2 , corresponding loosely to a 95%…

Read this part in the article →

Learn the underlying idea

Σ adds a collection of terms. Π multiplies them. The lower and upper labels tell you which terms belong to the collection.

Open the illustrated sums and products: repeat an operation over an index guide →

Sources cited in the surrounding passage

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