Suppose your actual height is 5 feet and 5.2 inches. A tape measure which can be read tothe nearest 1/8 of an inch gives your height as 65 3/8 inches. The laser device at the clinic that givesreadings to the nearest hundredth of an inch says you are 65.31 inches. Required:
a. Which measuring device is more accurate?
b. Which measuring device is more precise?

a) The laser device

b) The tape

Explanation:

First, there is a need to understand what accuracy and precision mean.

Accuracy is the closeness of a measurement to its true (pre-determined) value.

Precision is the closeness of repeated measurements to each other.

Since 1 feet = 12 inches, then, 5 feet and 5.2 inches would be equivalent to 65.2 inches. This value represents the true value of my height.

The tape measured the height as 65 3/8, which is equivalent to 65.375 inches.

The laser device measured the height as 65.31.

Error = true value - measured value

Absolute error from the tape = 65.2 - 65.375

                                       = -0.175 inches

Absolute error from laser device = 65.2 - 65.31

                                 = -0.11

a) The magnitude of error from the tape is more than that of the laser device. Hence, the laser device is said to be more accurate.

b) Even though there were just single readings from both instruments, the tape can be read to the nearest 1/8 of an inch and as such, can give more precisive measurements than the laser device.