Accuracy, Precision, Percent Error

Front

What is the definition of accuracy?

Back

Accuracy refers to how close a measurement is to the accepted or true value.

Front

What is the definition of precision?

Back

Precision refers to how close a set of measurements are to each other, regardless of whether they are close to the true value.

Front

Which measurement is more precise: 4.3 mL or 4.300 mL?

Back

4.300 mL is more precise because it has more significant figures.

Front

What is percent error?

Back

Percent error is a measure of how inaccurate a measurement is, expressed as a percentage of the accepted value.

Front

How do you calculate percent error?

Back

Percent Error = |(Accepted Value - Experimental Value)| / Accepted Value x 100%.

Front

If a measurement is both accurate and precise, what does that mean?

Back

It means the measurements are close to the true value and also close to each other.

Front

What does it mean if a measurement is precise but not accurate?

Back

It means the measurements are close to each other but far from the true value.

Front

What does it mean if a measurement is accurate but not precise?

Back

It means the measurements are close to the true value but not close to each other.

Front

What is an example of high accuracy and high precision?

Back

A set of measurements that are all very close to each other and also very close to the true value.

Front

What is an example of low accuracy and low precision?

Back

A set of measurements that are all far from each other and far from the true value.