3.1 - DEFINITIONS

Question 1

Accuracy?

Answer 1

A measure of how close a measurement is to the true value

Question 2

Precision?

Answer 2

A measure of how close a measurement is to the mean value; not indicative of how close data is to the true value

Question 3

Random error?

Answer 3

unpredictable variation between measurements that leads to a spread of values about the true value

Question 4

Systematic error?

Answer 4

causes all readings to differ from the true value by a fixed amount

Question 5

Repeatable?

Answer 5

when the same experimenter can repeat a measurement using the same method and equipment and obtain the same value

Question 6

reproducible?

Answer 6

when an experiment can be repeated by a different experimenter using a different method and different apparatus and still obtain the same results

Question 7

Resolution?

Answer 7

the smallest change in a quantity that causes a visible change in the reading that a measuring instrument records

Question 8

Uncertainty

Answer 8

the interval that a value is said to lie within, with a given level of confidence