GCSE Physics (CIE)

Topic Summaries

Science skills: Measuring results

Accuracy and precision

  • The true value of a measurement is the value that would be obtained in an experiment without errors.
  • The accuracy of a measurement is how close it is to the true value.
  • The precision of a repeated experiment is how close together the measurements are.
  • Accuracy and precision are two separate concepts. An accurate measurement is not necessarily precise and vice versa.

  • A measurement is repeatable if the results are similar when the experiment is performed again by the same investigator, under the same conditions. This implies the measurements are precise.
  • A measurement is reproducible if the results are similar when the experiment is performed again by a different investigator with different equipment. This implies the measurements are accurate.

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