Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Create a set of data that meets the following criteria. A precise but not accurate determination of the mass of a can of Dr. Pepper that is 357.3...

To understand the answer to this question, one must
understand the difference between measurements that are accurate and measurements that
are precise. 


Precision of measurement can be thought of as
the repeatability of a measurement.  That is, if the measurement of an object is
repeated several times we can say it is a precise measurement if the values are all
within a narrow range.  Repeatability, or precision, can often times be linked to the
quality (and subsequent cost) of the tool being used to make the measurement.  For
example, measuring length with a meter stick that is marked down to the nearest
millimeter can be more precise than one that is marked down to the nearest centimeter;
meter sticks calibrated to millimeters tend to be more expensive than those that are
only at the centimeter range.  Instruments with smaller degrees of calibration (mm vs.
cm for example) generally have more digits in the recording of the correct measured
quantity.  Thus, the precision is also related to the number of significant digits used
to report the value. 


Accuracy and precision are often used
synonymously in common speech.  However, in scientific measurements they are not
interchangeable concepts.  Accuracy is how close a given measurement is to the correct,
or true, value.  For example, if a correct value of a measured length is 2.125 cm and
you measure it to be 2.124 cm, you have made a pretty accurate
measurement.


A good measurement is one which is both
precise and accurate.


To create a set of data points that
would represent a precise measurent of the mass of a can of soda pop which is not
accurate we would expect measurement with a large number of significant digits, that are
within a very narrow range, but which are not very close to the correct value of the
mass of the can.  An example set might look something like
this:


The correct, or true, value: 357.3
g


Measurement 1: 525.3
g


Measurement 2: 525.1
g


Measurement 3:  525.2 g


All
three measurements are close together (precise), but not very close to the correct
value

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