Accuracy and Precision in Science

Accuracy and Precision

Read each question carefully and answer to the best of your ability. This worksheet will test your understanding of accuracy and precision in scientific measurements.

1. Which term describes how close a measurement is to the true or accepted value?

2. Which term describes how close repeated measurements are to each other?

3. When a scientist measures the temperature of boiling water and gets 99.8°C, 100.1°C, and 99.9°C, their measurements are very close to each other, which means they are  .

4. If the true boiling point of water is 100°C, and a scientist measures it as 99.8°C, this measurement is fairly  .

5. A dart player who consistently hits the same spot on the dartboard, but far away from the bullseye, is   but not  .

6. Describe a real-world example where a measurement can be precise but not accurate.

7. Describe a real-world example where a measurement can be accurate but not precise.

8. An instrument that is calibrated incorrectly can lead to precise but inaccurate measurements.

9. To improve accuracy, you should always take multiple measurements and find the average.

10. A student is trying to measure the length of a pencil. They get the following measurements: 18.2 cm, 18.1 cm, 18.3 cm. The actual length of the pencil is 20.0 cm.

Are these measurements accurate? Explain why or why not.

Are these measurements precise? Explain why or why not.