Question

Four research teams measured the speed at which signals travel down a certain type of nerve fiber, and what each team wrote in its team notebook is shown in the table below.

Suppose a later and more reliable measurement gives 52.0/ms for the signal speed in the same type of nerve fiber. Decide which of the earlier measurements was the most accurate, and which was the most precise.

A 48. m/s +/- 2m/s
B 54. m/s
C between 50.8 and 51.2m/s

50.0m/s +/- 0.80%
D

Answer 1

Solution:

The acuracy and precission are the two different things used in analytical mesurements. Measurements that are close to the known value are said to be accurate, while those measurements that are close to each other are said to be precise.

Since, true value is 52.0 m/s

Hence, option D is more precise and option C is more accurate.

>>>50 +/- 0.8 % is more precise results.

50 + 0.8 % = 50 + 0.8/100 = 50.4

50 - 0.8 % = 50 + 0.8/100 = 49.6

These results are more precise.

>> 50.8 and 51.2 is more accurate brcause 51.2 is very close to 52 (true value).