A vernier calipers has 1 mm marks on the main scale. It has 20 equal divisions on the vernier scale which matc

Question

A vernier calipers has 1 mm marks on the main scale. It has 20 equal divisions on the vernier scale which match with 16 main scale divisions. The least count of this vernier calipers is:

Accepted Answer

The least count (LC) of a vernier calliper is defined as the difference between the magnitude of one main scale division (MSD) and one vernier scale division (VSD) .

1.  **Identify given values**: We are given that 1 MSD = 1 mm. 
2.  **Find the value of 1 VSD**: The problem states that 20 VSD coincide with 16 MSD. Therefore, 1 VSD = 16/20 MSD = 0.8 MSD.
3.  **Apply the Least Count formula**: LC = 1 MSD – 1 VSD = 1 MSD – 0.8 MSD = 0.2 MSD.
4.  **Final calculation**: Since 1 MSD = 1 mm, the least count is 0.2 × 1 mm = 0.20 mm.

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