Understand How to Measure Accurately and Handle Experimental Data

If you are shooting an arrow at a target, is it better to be accurate or consistent?

Surely as an archer, you want to be accurate, right? You want to hit that bull's eye!

Some people would rather the archer hit the same place each time at least that way she or he is reliable.

Scientific investigation is similar, only with equipment, not deadly arrows.

Do you go for equipment that will inform you of the accurate results or do you go for equipment that will give you a small grouping of answers? This is what we will be looking at in this worksheet.

There is a variety of scientific equipment and apparatus for each scientific experiment. Each needs to be used properly so that the measurements taken are accurate. You will be presented with a variety of situations relating to using scientific apparatus and handling data.

It is essential that scientific data is both accurate and precise.

Accuracy is how close to the true value of a quantity the measurement is.

Precision is the degree to which the results recorded will be the same if the experiment is to be reproduced under the exact same conditions.

Now it's over to you. Turn back to the introduction whenever you need.