Accuracy and Precision in Measurement
This worksheet focuses on understanding and differentiating between accuracy and precision in scientific measurements.
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Accuracy and Precision in Measurement
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Read each question carefully and provide your answer in the space provided. For multiple-choice questions, circle the best option. For true/false questions, circle T or F. For short answer questions, write your answer in the lines provided.
1. refers to how close a measurement is to the true or accepted value.
2. refers to how close repeated measurements are to each other.
3. A measuring instrument that consistently gives readings that are slightly higher than the actual value is experiencing a error.
1. A precise measurement is always an accurate measurement.
True
False
2. Random errors affect the precision of a measurement.
True
False
1. Which of the following scenarios best describes a situation with high precision but low accuracy?
A student measures the length of a table three times and gets 1.50 m, 1.51 m, and 1.49 m. The actual length is 1.50 m.
A dart player consistently hits the same spot on the dartboard, but it's far from the bullseye.
A scientist measures the mass of a sample five times and gets values that are all over the place, but average out to the true mass.
A thermometer consistently reads 25.0 °C, and the actual temperature is 25.0 °C.
2. What type of error primarily affects the accuracy of a measurement?
Random error
Systematic error
Human error
Parallax error
1. Explain the difference between accuracy and precision using an analogy of a dartboard.
2. Describe two factors that can lead to systematic errors in a scientific experiment.