ACCURACY AND PRECISION

A physical measurement is never exact. Its accuracy depends on the degree of

refinement of the measuring device and is limited by the skill of the observer doing
the measurement. It does not matter whether the apparatus being used is the best in
the world or the observer is the most skilled. To a certain degree, the measurement
will still be uncertain. Every reported measurement of a certain property or
characterstic of a material is just a best estimate of the correct value.

Let us say, for example, that the length of a wooden beam was measured and it was
reported to be 220±5 cm. It means that the correct value lies between 215 and 225 cm,
and the limit of uncertainty is ±5 cm.  This uncertainty of ±5 cm is a probability limit
and not an absolute one. On the other hand, if we that a measurement is accurate, we
are stating the degree to which a measurement corresponds to the real value. When
the uncertainty is large, it is a reflection of the experimenter`s belief that the
measurement has a low degree of accuracy. When the uncertainty is small, compared
to the measurement itself, it means that the measurement is accuarate or has a high
degree of accuracy.

How do we find the percent of uncertainty of a measurement? We can find this by

dividing the limit of uncertainty by the given value multiplied by 100%. In our earlier
example of 220±5 cm, the percent of uncertaity is 

The value of the measurement may be written as 

220 cm ± 2.27 %

How do we know the precision of a measurement? We can find the precision of a

measurement by making repeated careful measurements of the same quantity. This
will help us find out whether there is serious mistake or not in the measurement. We
may not be able to compare the results to the true value which is not known, but we
can at least know whether there are large random errors in our measurements or not.
Precision depends largely on the way the measurements are taken. Repeated careful
measurements help us compare results. If the values are close to one another, we are
atleast assured that there are no large random errors in the measurement.  This quality
of results is called precision or repeatability (repruducibility). We increase the
precision of a measurement through repeated readings of the same quantity.  The
degree by which these repeated measurements agree with one another called the
precision of the measurement.

It is possible that the degree of precision is high but the accuracy is low because of the
nature of the measuring instrument used and of the object measured. Precision is also
limited by the skill of the worker in making estimates or in using the measuring
instruments  (like viewing the meterstick at the same angle or placing the zero reading
at the same point of the object).
 

ERRORS IN MEASUREMENT AND ESTIMATION

Systematic Errors and Random Errors

            We are aware that no matter how careful we are in doing our measurements,
we do commit or encounter some errors? Error is the technical term for uncertainty in
reading a measurement. Making an error carries with it an implication of a mistake or
a blunder. An error in measurement means an uncertainty in between the measured
value and the standard value. Our reading may be too small or too large. We make a
positive error if our reading is too large and a negative error if our reading is too
small.

            Errors may be grouped into two classes: systematic error and random error.
When the error produced is always of the same sign, it is called systematic
error. You commit a systematic error if your measurement tends to make all
observations too big or too small. On the other hand, when positive and negative
errors are equally probable to occur, we have a random error.

Systematic errors may be classified into three: instrumental, personal and external.

1. Errors caused by faulty or inaccurate apparatus is called instrumental

errors. 

2. Errors that involve some peculiarity or bias of the observer are

called personal errors, like the tendency to assume that the first reading is correct.
Personal errors are also committed due to eye strain, fatigue, or position of the eye in
reading the scale. Lastly,

3. errors that are caused by external conditions like temperature, humidity,

wind, and vibrations are called external errors.

Random errors are erratic errors that are variations due to a lot of factors, each
of which adds or contributes to the total error. Since these factors may vary and are
unknown, the error produced is a matter of chance which means that the probability of
making both positive and negative errors are equal. Taking a large number of
observations will lessen the effect of errors in the experiment because they are subject
to the laws of chance. We may therefore apply the laws of statistics to random errors
to arrive at a certain definite conclusion about the magnitude of the error.

The accepted value is a number or value that scientists and the public regard as true.
The experimental value is the value that you get in an experiment.
The absolute value of the difference between the two values (the "error") is
your experimental error.