Types of Accuracy
There are three ways to classify the accuracy of a system. They are :
- Point Accuracy
- Accuracy as Percentage of Scale Range
- Accuracy as Percentage of True Value
Point Accuracy
Point accuracy refers to how accurate an instrument is at a specific point on its scale. It does not reflect the overall accuracy of the instrument across its entire range. It only tells us how reliable the instrument is at that particular point.
Accuracy as Percentage of Scale Range
This type of accuracy is based on the uniformity of the instrument’s scale. For example, consider a thermometer with a scale up to 100 ℃. If this thermometer has an accuracy of ±0.5 per cent of the scale range, it translates to an error margin of ±0.5 ℃ (0.005 x 100 = ±0.5 ℃). This means any reading could be off by as much as 0.5 ℃.
Accuracy as Percentage of True Value
This measure of accuracy assesses how close the measured value is to the actual value. Instruments typically have an acceptable error margin, often around ±0.5 per cent from the true value. This standard helps in determining the precision of an instrument concerning what it is measuring.
Accuracy and Precision in Measurement
Accuracy means how close a measurement comes to the true value while precision refers to how consistently one can repeat a measurement. Every measurement contains some uncertainty in them. It may be due to limitations in measurement tools, observer variation, or environmental factors. This affects both the accuracy and precision of measurements. In this article, we are going to learn about accuracy and precision in detail, along with their examples and differences.
Table of Content
- Accuracy
- Precision
- Accuracy and Precision Examples
- Difference between Accuracy and Precision
- Solved Examples on Accuracy and Precision