The false statement regarding precision of an instrument:a)precision is the indication of the degree of closeness between the measured values.b)an instrument with high precision will always give accurate readingsc)an high accuracy instrument is always a precision instrument. d)none of the aboveCorrect answer is option 'B'. Can you explain this answer?

Question

Answer

Precision:

Precision is the indication of the degree of closeness between the measured values.
Precision is also the measurement of repeatability (or) reproducibility.
For a good instrument, high precision is preferred when the measured values are very close.
A high precision instrument may or may not be accurate i.e, precision doesn't give the guarantee about accuracy.
But a high accuracy instrument is a precision instrument i.e, accuracy guarantees precision.

Answer

Understanding Precision and Accuracy
In the context of measurement instruments, precision and accuracy are two distinct concepts that are often confused. Precision refers to the repeatability or consistency of measurements, while accuracy indicates how close a measurement is to the true value.
Why Option B is False
- Precision vs. Accuracy:
- An instrument can produce highly precise readings—that is, they can be very consistent with each other—yet still be inaccurate if those readings are far from the true value.
- For example, if a scale consistently reads 5 kg when the true weight is 10 kg, it is precise but not accurate.
- Implications of High Precision:
- High precision does not guarantee that the measurements are correct. It only means that repeated measurements yield similar results.
- An instrument can have high precision (low variability) but still be systematically biased.
Other Options Explained
- Option A:
- Precision indeed indicates the degree of closeness between measured values. This statement is true.
- Option C:
- While high accuracy often implies high precision, the reverse is not necessarily true. A highly accurate instrument can still have precision issues if its measurements vary significantly.
- Option D:
- Since options A and C are true, option D ('none of the above') is also true.
Conclusion
Thus, the correct answer is option B, as it incorrectly asserts that high precision guarantees accurate readings, which is not the case in measurement science. Understanding this distinction is crucial for effective instrumentation and quality control in mechanical engineering.

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