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Measurement: Accuracy and Precision

This document discusses measurement accuracy and precision. It defines accuracy as how close a measurement is to the actual value, which depends on the person measuring. Precision refers to how closely measurements agree with each other and depends on the measuring tool. Accuracy is represented by hitting the bullseye on a target, while precision is represented by tight groupings of shots. Significant figures refer to the meaningful digits in a measurement and determine the level of precision. The number of significant figures must be considered when doing calculations to ensure the final answer has the appropriate precision.

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Rizza May Gultiano Peralta
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38 views18 pages

Measurement: Accuracy and Precision

This document discusses measurement accuracy and precision. It defines accuracy as how close a measurement is to the actual value, which depends on the person measuring. Precision refers to how closely measurements agree with each other and depends on the measuring tool. Accuracy is represented by hitting the bullseye on a target, while precision is represented by tight groupings of shots. Significant figures refer to the meaningful digits in a measurement and determine the level of precision. The number of significant figures must be considered when doing calculations to ensure the final answer has the appropriate precision.

Uploaded by

Rizza May Gultiano Peralta
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MEASUREMENT

Accuracy and Precision


Objectives
1. Describe the need for measurement.
2. Carry out simple measurements of length, volume,
and mass
3. Differentiate the accuracy and the precision of a
measurement
Keywords
a. Measurements
b. Units of measurement
c. Accuracy
d. Precision
e. Significant figures
f. Errors
Measurement
Unit of Measurement
PROPERTY SI UNIT

Length

Mass

Volume

Time

Temperature
Unit of Measurement
PROPERTY SI UNIT

Length Meter (m)

Mass Kilogram (kg)

Volume Liter (L)

Time Second (s)

Temperature Kelvin (K)


Accuracy & Precision

• Accuracy: • Precision:
• How finely tuned your
• How close you are to the
measurements are or how close
actual value
they can be to each other
• Depends on the person
• Depends on the measuring tool
measuring
• Determined by the number of
• Calculated by the formula:
significant digits
% Error = (YV – AV) x 100 ÷ AV
Where: YV is YOUR measured Value & AV is
the Accepted Value
Accuracy & Precision
Accuracy & Precision may be demonstrated by shooting at a target.

Accuracy is represented by hitting the bulls eye (the accepted value)

Precision is represented by a tight grouping of shots (they are finely


tuned)
Accuracy & Precision Accuracy without
Precision

Precision without No Precision &


Accuracy No Accuracy
Determine whether each measurement is accurate or
inaccurate, and precise or imprecise.
Errors
• The result is far from the true value (low accuracy). These
errors are known as systematic errors.

• The results is different from each other (low precision). These


errors are known as random errors.
Significant Digits
How to Check a Measurement for Precision
Significant Digits & Precision
• The precision of a measurement is the smallest
possible unit that could be measured.
• Significant Digits (sd) are the numbers that result
from a measurement.
• When a measurement is converted we need to
make sure we know which digits are significant
and keep them in our conversion
• All digits that are measured are significant
Significant Digits & Precision
What is the length of the bar?
• How many digits are
there in the
measurement?
0 1 2 3 4
• All of these digits are cm

significant
• There are 3 sd
Length of Bar = 3.23 cm
Significant Figures
• Refers to the number of important single digits (0 through 9
inclusive) in the coefficient of an expression in scientific
notation.

• The number of significant figures in an expression indicates


the confidence or precision.
Rules for Significant Figures
To determine the number of significant figures in a number use the
following 3 rules:

1. Non-zero digits are always significant


2. Any zeros between two significant digits are significant
3. A final zero or trailing zeros in the decimal portion ONLY are
significant
Example: .500 or .632000 the zeros are significant
.006 or .000968 the zeros are NOT significant
For addition and subtraction use the
following rules:
1. Count the number of significant figures in the decimal portion ONLY
of each number in the problem
2. Add or subtract in the normal fashion
3. Your final answer may have no more significant figures to the right
of the decimal than the LEAST number of significant figures in any
number in the problem.

6.1 has 2 significant figures


For multiplication and division use the
following rule:

• The LEAST number of significant figures in any number of the problem


determines the number of significant figures in the answer. (You are
now looking at the entire number, not just the decimal portion)
• This means you have to be able to recognize significant figures in
order to use this rule

Example: 5.26 has 3 significant figures

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