Question

A zinc slug comes from a science supply company with a stated mass of 5.000 g. A student weighs the slugthree times, collecting the following values: 4.891 g, 4.901 g, and 4.890 g. Are the student’s values accurate?Are they precise (consider both meanings)?

Answer 1

Answer: The student’s values are accurate as well as precise.

Explanation:

Precision refers to the closeness of two or more measurements to each other.

For Example: If you weigh a given substance three times and you get same value each time. Then the measurement is very precise.

Accuracy refers to the closeness of a measured value to a standard or known value.

For Example: If the mass of a substance is 50 kg and one person weighed 49 kg and another person weighed 48 kg. Then, the weight measured by first person is more accurate.

Given: Mass = 5.000 g

Mass weighed by A has values 4.891 g , 4.901 g and 4.890. Thus the average value is $\frac{4.891+4.901+4.890}{3}=4.894$

Thus as the measured value is close to the true value, the student’s values are accurate and as the values are close to each other, the measurement is precise.