{"id":55,"date":"2015-07-21T18:52:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-21T18:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/styleforstudents\/?post_type=chapter&p=55"},"modified":"2015-07-21T18:52:00","modified_gmt":"2015-07-21T18:52:00","slug":"accurate-precise","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-hccc-styleforstudents-1\/chapter\/accurate-precise\/","title":{"raw":"Accurate \/ Precise","rendered":"Accurate \/ Precise"},"content":{"raw":"
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\r\n\r\nAs your cleverest professors might be fond of saying: \u201cA measurement can be accurate without being precise; a measurement can be precise without being accurate.\u201d A simple demonstration of this distinction: We can refer to a wrapped collection of hay as a bale (an accurate measurement) without precisely counting its strands; we can scatter the hay and number the strands (a precise measurement) but not accurately call it a bale. More to the point, we cannot claim that a particular event occurred \u201cprecisely 20,000 years ago\u201d or that a particular ore reserve weighs \u201cprecisely 1 million tonnes\u201d; by definition, such values are measured coarsely rather than exactly. In relation to the weather, we would properly refer to an accurate (true) forecast, but a precise (exact) temperature.\r\n\r\n\u201cAccuracy\u201d denotes how closely a measurement approaches its true value. An accurate measure, then, is one that conforms well to an implied or stated benchmark:\r\n
The accuracy of the test results was verified by running 50 of the samples a second time.<\/blockquote>\r\n
This particular scale is accurate to the nearest kilogram.<\/blockquote>\r\n\u201cPrecise\u201d means marked by a high degree of exactitude:\r\n
One pint is precisely 568.245 milliliters.<\/blockquote>\r\nIn the simplest terms, accuracy is about conformity to truth or fact, while precision is about exactness.\r\n
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Self-Study<\/h3>\r\nFor an interesting look at the distinctions between \u201caccurate\u201d and \u201cprecise,\u201d visit these pages:\r\n\r\nAccuracy vs. precision demonstrated by rifle shots at a bull\u2019s eye target<\/a>\r\n\r\n\"What is the Difference Between Accuracy and Precision?\" article by meteorologist Jeff Haby<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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As your cleverest professors might be fond of saying: \u201cA measurement can be accurate without being precise; a measurement can be precise without being accurate.\u201d A simple demonstration of this distinction: We can refer to a wrapped collection of hay as a bale (an accurate measurement) without precisely counting its strands; we can scatter the hay and number the strands (a precise measurement) but not accurately call it a bale. More to the point, we cannot claim that a particular event occurred \u201cprecisely 20,000 years ago\u201d or that a particular ore reserve weighs \u201cprecisely 1 million tonnes\u201d; by definition, such values are measured coarsely rather than exactly. In relation to the weather, we would properly refer to an accurate (true) forecast, but a precise (exact) temperature.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccuracy\u201d denotes how closely a measurement approaches its true value. An accurate measure, then, is one that conforms well to an implied or stated benchmark:<\/p>\n

The accuracy of the test results was verified by running 50 of the samples a second time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This particular scale is accurate to the nearest kilogram.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cPrecise\u201d means marked by a high degree of exactitude:<\/p>\n

One pint is precisely 568.245 milliliters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the simplest terms, accuracy is about conformity to truth or fact, while precision is about exactness.<\/p>\n

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Self-Study<\/h3>\n

For an interesting look at the distinctions between \u201caccurate\u201d and \u201cprecise,\u201d visit these pages:<\/p>\n

Accuracy vs. precision demonstrated by rifle shots at a bull\u2019s eye target<\/a><\/p>\n

“What is the Difference Between Accuracy and Precision?” article by meteorologist Jeff Haby<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t
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