A-PDF Split DEMO : Purchase from www.A-PDF.

com to remove the watermark

Appendix 2: Precision, accuracy and sensitivity

Precision is a term meaning 'fineness of discrimination' but is often used erroneously to mean 'accuracy' or 'uncertainty'. It relates to the smallest division that can be read from an instrument. A thermometer that is marked in 1oC steps is less precise than one that is marked in 0.1oC steps because the latter has a more finely divided scale. Accuracy relates to the difference between the measured value of a quantity and its true value. Suppose that the temperature of a boiling liquid is actually 60oC and it is measured with two mercury-in-glass thermometers, one of which reads 59oC and the other reads 57oC; the first thermometer is the most accurate of the two because its reading is the closest to the actual value of the boiling liquid. Accuracy is a qualitative term only. Accuracy can be improved by removing or compensating for the cause of a systematic error eg checking an instrument for a zero reading error and either adjusting the instrument to eliminate the error or noting the error and deducting its value from readings. Sensitivity is defined as the change in response of an instrument divided by the corresponding change in stimulus. So for example, the sensitivity of a thermometer is expressed in mm/oC.

Tutor support materials Edexcel GCE in Physics Guidance for the A2 practical assessment Issue 1 February 2009 Edexcel Limited 2009

77

A note on precision and accuracy Precision and accuracy are often confused with each other. One instrument may be more precise than another, but it may not be as accurate. The diagrams show two thermometers that are being used to measure room temperature. The first thermometer is marked in 1oC steps and reads 22oC. The second thermometer is marked in 0.1oC steps and reads 20.2oC. If the room temperature is actually 23oC then the first thermometer gives the more accurate reading because it is closest to the true temperature. The second thermometer is more precise because the scale has finer divisions.

25

20

22C

More accurate

21

20.2C

20

More precise

2054ma020309S:\LT\PD\Support\GCE Physics gdc for the A2 pract assesm TSM.doc.1-87/3

78

Tutor support materials Edexcel GCE in Physics Guidance for the A2 practical assessment Issue 1 February 2009 Edexcel Limited 2009