Which of the following statements concerning accuracy and precision is/are correct?
1) It is possible for a series of measurements to be both precise and inaccurate.
2) Accuracy is a measure of how close multiple measurements are to each other.
3) The more significant figures in a measurement the more accurate the measurement.
A) 1 only
B) 2 only
C) 1 and 2
D) 2 and 3
E) 1,2,and 3

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Statement 1 is correct because precision is a measure of the consistency of multiple measurements, while accuracy is a measure of how close those measurements are to the true value. Therefore, it's possible for a series of measurements to be consistent (precise) but still far from the true value (inaccurate).
Statement 2 is incorrect because accuracy is a measure of how close a measurement is to the true value, not how close multiple measurements are to each other.
Statement 3 is also incorrect because the number of significant figures in a measurement does not determine its accuracy. A measurement can have many significant figures but still be inaccurate if it's far from the true value.

Which of the Following Statements Concerning Accuracy and Precision Is/are