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Chapter 2: Problem 5

What is accuracy? What is precision?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Accuracy is the closeness of a measured value to a standard or known value, while precision is the closeness of two or more measurements to each other.

Step by step solution

01

Define Accuracy

Accuracy refers to the closeness of a measured value to a standard or known value. If an experiment yields accurate results, it means that the results are very close to the true or accepted value. For example, if an experiment is done to measure the boiling point of water and the results bring about a closer value to 100 degrees Celsius (which is the true value), then the experiment can be said to be accurate.
02

Define Precision

Precision, on the other hand, refers to the closeness of two or more measurements to each other. If an experiment is said to be precise, regardless of the measured value being close or not to the true value, it means that the measurements are very close to each other. For example, if an experiment is done thrice to measure the boiling point of water and all the results are similar (though not close to 100 degrees Celsius), then the experiment can be considered precise.
03

Differentiate between Accuracy and Precision

While accuracy is about the closeness of a measured value to a standard or known value, precision is about the closeness of two or more measurements to each other. They are not the same thing - a particular set of data can be accurate, precise, both, or neither.

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