ack's science teacher gave each student in his class 15.0 grams of an unknown substance to identify. Each student was required to verify the mass of their substance by taking four measurements. Which of Zack's measurement was the most accurate of the four recorded?
To determine which of Zack's measurements was the most accurate, we need to compare his recorded measurements with the expected mass of the substance given by the teacher (which is 15.0 grams). Accuracy is determined by how close the measured value is to the expected value.
If Zack took four measurements, we need to compare each of them to the expected value of 15.0 grams. Let's assume the four recorded measurements are:
Measurement 1: 14.8 grams
Measurement 2: 15.2 grams
Measurement 3: 15.1 grams
Measurement 4: 14.9 grams
To determine which measurement is the most accurate, we need to calculate the difference between each measurement and the expected value:
Measurement 1: |14.8 - 15.0| = 0.2 grams
Measurement 2: |15.2 - 15.0| = 0.2 grams
Measurement 3: |15.1 - 15.0| = 0.1 grams
Measurement 4: |14.9 - 15.0| = 0.1 grams
The measurement with the smallest difference from the expected value is the most accurate. In this case, Measurement 3 (15.1 grams) and Measurement 4 (14.9 grams) both have a difference of 0.1 grams, which is smaller than the differences for Measurement 1 and Measurement 2.
Therefore, both Measurement 3 and Measurement 4 can be considered equally accurate as they are the closest to the expected value of 15.0 grams.