ACCURACY AND PRECISION IN MEASUREMENTS

I. Objectives
a. Determine the accuracy and precision of measurements in
an object/material.
b. Apply the rules of significant figures in calculations.

II. Material
➢ Ruler
➢ Tape measure
➢ 3 pieces short bond paper
➢ 1 book (any book you have at your home)

SET A: ACCURACY & PRECISION

The size of short bond paper in inches is 8.5 × 11 while in centimeters is 21.59
cm x 27.94 cm. To prove this, using the ruler and tape measure, measure the size of the
3 pieces of bond paper. Fill in the table with the data you have gathered.

Ruler Tape measure

Bond paper
cm inches cm inches

1 22 x 28.3 8.6 x 11 22.1 x 27.8 8.5 x 11

2 22 x 28.25 8.6 x 11 22.15 x 27.8 8.5 x 11

3 22 x 28.2 8.6 x 10.95 21.7 x 27.8 8.5 x 11

Questions:
1. Did you get the same results of measurements using the ruler?
I got the same results of measurements using the ruler in terms of width in both
centimeters and inches. In terms of height the three bond papers has different
measurements. The height of the bond paper is keep getting smaller in both
centimeter and inch.
How about using the tape measure?
I also got the same result of measurements of bond paper using the tape measure
of width and height but in inches only. The measurement of the height of the three
bond paper is all the same. The width in centimeters are the only one that is
different to each other.

2. Which of the measuring tool has accurate measurement? Which of the measuring
tool has precise measurements? Justify your answer.
The measuring tool that is more accurate and more precise is the tape measure.
Based on the table, the tape measure is more accurate than the ruler because it
is closer to the original measurements of the bond paper. The tape measure is
also more precise because almost all the measurements are the same.

Conclusion

The tape measure is more accurate and precise than the ruler. Based on the table,
the tape measure is more accurate because it is much closer to the preferred
measurements of the bond paper. The tape measurement is also more precise than
the ruler because in tape measure the only one that is different to each other is the
width on the centimeter
SET B SIGNIFICANT FIGURES IN CALCULATED MEASUREMENTS

Get a book you have at your home and find the surface area of the given
object. Use inch to measure the surface area of the book. Make sure your answers have
the correct number of significant digits.

Show your solution:

Front- 8 x 10
Back- 8 x 10
Top- 8 x 0.5
Bottom- 8 x 0.5
Left- 10 x 0.5
Right- 10 x 0.5

SA = (8 x 10) + (8 x 10) + (8 x 0.5) + (8 x 0.5) + (10 x 0.5) + (10 x 0.5)

SA = (80) + (80) + (4) + (4) + (5) + (5)
SA = 178 in2