A student measures the mass of a paper clip. The student’s data table is shown below. The accepted value for the paper clip’s mass is 1.14 g.
Trial 1, 2.45 g
Trial 2, 2.40 g
Trial 3, 2.42 g
Which of the following describes the student’s measurements?
a. The student’s measurements were accurate, but not precise.
b. The student’s measurements were precise, but not accurate.*****
c. The student’s measurements were neither precise nor accurate.
d. The student’s measurements were both precise and accurate.
I chose that answer too.
B is correct i took the test and I got that question correct.
The correct answer is b. The student's measurements were precise, but not accurate.
This means that the student's measurements were consistent and close to each other (precise), but they were not close to the accepted value (not accurate).
To determine whether the student's measurements were accurate or precise, let's first define the terms:
- Accuracy refers to how close a measurement is to the accepted or true value.
- Precision refers to how close repeated measurements of the same quantity are to each other.
Now, let's examine the data provided:
Trial 1: 2.45g
Trial 2: 2.40g
Trial 3: 2.42g
The accepted value for the paper clip's mass is 1.14g.
From the data table, we can see that the student's measurements are close to each other (2.45g, 2.40g, 2.42g), indicating precision. However, the measurements are far off from the accepted value of 1.14g, indicating inaccuracy.
Therefore, the correct answer is b. The student's measurements were precise, but not accurate.