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What is the relationship between the accuracy and uncertainty of a measurement?

a) They are inversely proportional.

b) They are directly proportional.

c) Uncertainty is unrelated to accuracy.

d) There is no general relationship.

1 Answer

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Final answer:

The accuracy and uncertainty of a measurement are related but not directly proportional. An increase in precision decreases the uncertainty, while accuracy is related to the discrepancy from the accepted value.

Step-by-step explanation:

The relationship between the accuracy and uncertainty of a measurement can be described as follows:

An increase in the precision of a measurement decreases the uncertainty of the measurement, while a decrease in precision increases the uncertainty. This means that when a measuring device provides more precise measurements, the uncertainty in those measurements decreases.

On the other hand, the accuracy of a measurement is related to the discrepancy from the accepted reference value. If a measurement is not very accurate, meaning it is far from the accepted value, the discrepancy is high. However, the accuracy of a measurement does not directly impact the uncertainty. It is possible to have a highly accurate measurement with a low uncertainty.

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