CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

1B.27 states: A bowling ball of mass 8 kg is rolled down a bowling alley lane at 5.00+/-5.00 m.s^-1. What is the minimum uncertainty in its position.

I understand how to solve this problem using Heisenberg's uncertainty equation, but I don't understand why delta V is 5.00 m.s^-1. Shouldn't it be 10 m.s^-1 since 5.00 m.s^-1 x 2 = 10 m.s^-1?

You're correct! It's actually an error in the textbook. Lavelle has the explanation under the tab "Solution Manual Errors 7th Edition". With that being said, because Δv = 10.0 m.s-1 then answer is actually Δx = 6.7 x 10-37 m

How do you know to multiply 5.00 m/s by 2?

You multiply 5.00 m/s by 2 because the error is 5.00+/-5.00 m/s, so it is in either direction. This the error is the absolute value (5) times 2.