Instrument Precision Worksheet
Grade 12 science worksheet on instrument precision, significant figures, and measurement uncertainty.
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Instrument Precision Worksheet
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Read each question carefully and provide thorough answers. Pay close attention to significant figures and units in your calculations and final responses.
1. Which of the following statements best defines the precision of a measurement instrument?
How close the measured value is to the true value.
The consistency or reproducibility of repeated measurements.
The smallest increment an instrument can measure.
The range of values an instrument can measure.
2. A student measures the length of a rod three times, obtaining 15.2 cm, 15.3 cm, and 15.2 cm. The true length of the rod is 16.0 cm. Which of the following best describes these measurements?
High accuracy, low precision.
Low accuracy, high precision.
High accuracy, high precision.
Low accuracy, low precision.
3. The number of significant figures in a measurement reflects the of the measurement.
4. When adding or subtracting measurements, the result should be rounded to the same number of decimal places as the measurement with the number of decimal places.
5. Explain the difference between accuracy and precision in the context of scientific measurements.
6. Consider the micrometer caliper shown below:
(a) What is the typical precision of a micrometer caliper?
(b) If a micrometer measures a thickness as 5.235 mm, how many significant figures are in this measurement?
7. All non-zero digits in a measurement are considered significant.
True
False
8. A scientist uses a digital balance that reads to the nearest 0.001 g. They measure a sample and get a reading of 25.123 g. What is the absolute uncertainty and the relative uncertainty (as a percentage) of this measurement?