Question

The students are given a vernier calipers to measure the outer diameter of a cylinder. The actual outer diameter is 4 cm. The measurements made are given in the following table:
$\begin{array}{cccccc}Student& Measurements& & & & \\ & 1& 2& 3& 4& 5\\ A& 4& 4& 4& 4& 4\\ B& 3.5& 3.6& 3.7& 3.8& 3.65\\ C& 3.7& 3.9& 4.1& 4.3& 4\\ D& 3.6& 4.2& 4.4& 4.8& 4.25\\ E& 4.005& 3.995& 4.05& 3.95& 4\end{array}$

In case B, the measurements are said to be:

• A. Highly Accurate
• B. Highly Precise
• C. Both a & b
• D. none

Answer 1

The correct option is B

Highly Precise

If the measurements are close to a particular value, but are not close to the actual value then we say that the measurements are highly precise but not accurate, similar to the situation when the archer could hit the same spot repeatedly but could not hit the target apple.