How would you define resolution, accuracy, and precision in measurement systems?

How would you define resolution, accuracy, and precision in measurement systems?

• A. Resolution is the smallest detectable change; accuracy is closeness to the true value; precision is repeatability.
• B. Resolution is the largest detectable change; accuracy is speed; precision is noise level.
• C. Resolution is the ease of measurement; accuracy is the speed of measurement; precision is the energy efficiency of the measurement.
• D. All three terms describe the same property of a measurement.

Answer: (A)

Understanding how resolution, accuracy, and precision differ helps you evaluate what a measurement system truly conveys. Resolution is the smallest change the instrument can detect—the finest increment it can distinguish. For example, a digital readout that shows values to 0.01 units can detect changes in that 0.01 unit step, but not smaller ones. Accuracy is how close the reported value is to the true value. It reflects systematic error or bias; a measurement can be accurate if it hits the true value on average, even if individual readings vary. Precision is about repeatability. If you take multiple measurements under the same conditions, precision describes how close those readings are to one another. You can have high precision but low accuracy if the measurements cluster tightly around a value that isn’t the true value, or high accuracy but low precision if they are scattered around the true value. So the best way to define them is: resolution is the smallest detectable change; accuracy is closeness to the true value; precision is repeatability. The other descriptions mix up what each term means—for instance, describing resolution as the largest detectable change or labeling accuracy as speed, or claiming all three describe the same property.

Understanding how resolution, accuracy, and precision differ helps you evaluate what a measurement system truly conveys. Resolution is the smallest change the instrument can detect—the finest increment it can distinguish. For example, a digital readout that shows values to 0.01 units can detect changes in that 0.01 unit step, but not smaller ones.

Accuracy is how close the reported value is to the true value. It reflects systematic error or bias; a measurement can be accurate if it hits the true value on average, even if individual readings vary.

Precision is about repeatability. If you take multiple measurements under the same conditions, precision describes how close those readings are to one another. You can have high precision but low accuracy if the measurements cluster tightly around a value that isn’t the true value, or high accuracy but low precision if they are scattered around the true value.

So the best way to define them is: resolution is the smallest detectable change; accuracy is closeness to the true value; precision is repeatability. The other descriptions mix up what each term means—for instance, describing resolution as the largest detectable change or labeling accuracy as speed, or claiming all three describe the same property.