Chapter 2: Problem 181

A student reports a series of five length measurements that are accurate but not precise. Is it more likely that his laboratory technique is very good but the measuring instrument is bad, or that his laboratory technique is bad? Explain.

Short Answer

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It is more likely that the student's laboratory technique is very good but the measuring instrument is bad. A good laboratory technique ensures accurate measurements by following standard protocols and minimizing external factors. However, a faulty measuring instrument can introduce inconsistent errors, leading to poor precision. In this case, the student's measurements are accurate but not precise, which aligns with the scenario of a good laboratory technique and a bad measuring instrument.

Step by step solution

Scenario 1: Good Laboratory Technique with a Bad Measuring Instrument

If the student applies a good laboratory technique but the measuring instrument is of poor quality, the student would likely produce accurate but not precise measurements. This is because a good laboratory technique ensures that they're following the standard protocols and minimizing external factors that could affect their measurements, making the measurements more accurate. However, if the measuring instrument is faulty, then it could introduce inconsistent errors in measurements, leading to poor precision. An example would be a broken ruler that is not properly calibrated, thus the student is consistently measuring the lengths, but due to the ruler's poor calibration, the measurements are not precise.

Scenario 2: Bad Laboratory Technique

If the student's laboratory technique is bad, then their measurements would usually be both inaccurate and imprecise. A poor laboratory technique would introduce uncontrolled errors during the measurement process, which could negatively affect both the accuracy and precision of the measurements. In the student's case, they reported measurements that are accurate but not precise, which doesn't usually happen with a bad laboratory technique.

Conclusion

Considering the definitions of accuracy and precision and the possible scenarios, it is more likely that the student's laboratory technique is very good but the measuring instrument is bad. The good laboratory technique ensures that the measurements are accurate, but the poor quality of the measuring instrument introduces inconsistent errors, resulting in a lack of precision in the reported measurements.

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A student reports a series of five length measurements that are accurate but not precise. Is it more likely that his laboratory technique is very good but the measuring instrument is bad, or that his laboratory technique is bad? Explain.

Short Answer

Step by step solution

Scenario 1: Good Laboratory Technique with a Bad Measuring Instrument

Scenario 2: Bad Laboratory Technique

Conclusion

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