How would you describe the relationship between accuracy and precision?

Prepare for the AQA GCSE Physics Exam with flashcards and multiple choice questions. Each question includes hints and explanations. Get ready to excel in your exam!

Accuracy and precision are key concepts in measurement that relate to the reliability of results. Accuracy refers to how close a measured value is to the true or accepted value. In contrast, precision indicates how consistently a measurement can be repeated, reflecting the degree of variability among measurements.

Describing the relationship between accuracy and precision, saying that accuracy requires precision highlights that in order to obtain accurate measurements, the measurements must also be precise. If measurements are not precise (meaning there is significant variation among them), it becomes difficult to consistently hit the true value, thus compromising accuracy. For example, if a scientist takes several measurements of the same object but gets varying results, even if those results are centered around the true value, the lack of precision diminishes the reliability of claiming that they are accurate. Therefore, to achieve accuracy in measurements, a certain level of precision is necessary, which clarifies why this answer is correct.

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