n the fields of science, engineering, industry, and statistics, the accuracy of a

measurement system is the degree of closeness of measurements of a quantity to

that quantity's actual (true) value.[1] The precision of a measurement system,
related to reproducibility and repeatability, is the degree to which repeated
measurements under unchanged conditions show the same results.[1][2] Although
the two words precision and accuracy can be synonymous in colloquial use, they are
deliberately contrasted in the context of the scientific method.

A measurement system can be accurate but not precise, precise but not accurate,
neither, or both. For example, if an experiment contains a systematic error, then
increasing the sample size generally increases precision but does not improve
accuracy. The result would be a consistent yet inaccurate string of results from the
flawed experiment. Eliminating the systematic error improves accuracy but does not
change precision.

A measurement system is considered valid if it is both accurate and precise. Related

terms include bias (non-random or directed effects caused by a factor or factors
unrelated to the independent variable) and error (random variability).

The terminology is also applied to indirect measurementsthat is, values obtained

by a computational procedure from observed data.

In addition to accuracy and precision, measurements may also have a measurement

resolution, which is the smallest change in the underlying physical quantity that
produces a response in the measurement.

In numerical analysis, accuracy is also the nearness of a calculation to the true

value; while precision is the resolution of the representation, typically defined by the
number of decimal or binary digits.

The significant figures of a number are those digits that carry meaning contributing to its precision.
This includes all digits except:

All leading zeros;

Trailing zeros when they are merely placeholders to indicate the scale of the number (exact
rules are explained at identifying significant figures); and

Spurious digits introduced, for example, by calculations carried out to greater precision than
that of the original data, or measurements reported to a greater precision than the equipment
supports.

Significance arithmetic are approximate rules for roughly maintaining significance throughout a
computation. The more sophisticated scientific rules are known aspropagation of uncertainty.
Numbers are often rounded to avoid reporting insignificant figures. For instance, if a device
measures to the nearest gram and gives a reading of 12.345 kg (which has five significant figures), it
would create false precision to express this measurement as 12.34500 kg (which has seven
significant figures). Numbers can also be rounded merely for simplicity rather than to indicate a given
precision of measurement, for example to make them faster to pronounce in news broadcasts.
Arithmetic precision can also be defined with reference to a fixed number of decimal places (the
number of digits following the decimal point). This second definition is useful in applications where
the number of digits in the fractional part has particular importance, but it does not follow the rules of
significance arithmetic.
Specifically, the rules for identifying significant figures when writing or interpreting numbers are as
follows:[1]

All non-zero digits are considered significant. For example, 91 has two significant figures (9
and 1), while 123.45 has five significant figures (1, 2, 3, 4 and 5).

Zeros appearing anywhere between two non-zero digits are significant. Example: 101.1203
has seven significant figures: 1, 0, 1, 1, 2, 0 and 3.

Leading zeros are not significant. For example, 0.00052 has two significant figures: 5 and 2.

Trailing zeros in a number containing a decimal point are significant. For example, 12.2300
has six significant figures: 1, 2, 2, 3, 0 and 0. The number 0.000122300 still has only six
significant figures (the zeros before the 1 are not significant). In addition, 120.00 has five

significant figures since it has three trailing zeros. This convention clarifies the precision of such
numbers; for example, if a measurement precise to four decimal places (0.0001) is given as
12.23 then it might be understood that only two decimal places of precision are available. Stating
the result as 12.2300 makes clear that it is precise to four decimal places (in this case, six
significant figures).

The significance of trailing zeros in a number not containing a decimal point can be
ambiguous. For example, it may not always be clear if a number like 1300 is precise to the
nearest unit (and just happens coincidentally to be an exact multiple of a hundred) or if it is only
shown to the nearest hundred due to rounding or uncertainty. Various conventions exist to
address this issue:

A bar may be placed over the last significant figure; any trailing zeros following this are
insignificant. For example, 1300 has three significant figures (and hence indicates that
the number is precise to the nearest ten).

The last significant figure of a number may be underlined; for example, "2000" has two
significant figures.

A decimal point may be placed after the number; for example "100." indicates specifically
that three significant figures are meant.[2]

In the combination of a number and a unit of measurement, the ambiguity can be

avoided by choosing a suitable unit prefix. For example, the number of significant figures
in a mass specified as 1300 g is ambiguous, while in a mass of 13 hg or 1.3 kg it is not.
However, these conventions are not universally used, and it is often necessary to determine
from context whether such trailing zeros are intended to be significant. If all else fails, the
level of rounding can be specified explicitly. The abbreviation s.f. is sometimes used, for
example "20 000 to 2 s.f." or "20 000 (2 sf)". Alternatively, the uncertainty can be stated
separately and explicitly with a plus-minus sign, as in 20 000 1%, so that significant-figures
rules do not apply. This also allows specifying a precision in-between powers of ten (or
whatever the base power of the numbering system is).

Scientific notation[edit]
In most cases, the same rules apply to numbers expressed in scientific notation.
However, in the normalized form of that notation, placeholder leading and
trailing digits do not occur, so all digits are significant. For example, 0.00012
(two significant figures) becomes 1.2104, and 0.00122300 (six significant
figures) becomes 1.22300103. In particular, the potential ambiguity about the
significance of trailing zeros is eliminated. For example, 1300 to four significant
figures is written as 1.300103, while 1300 to two significant figures is written as
1.3103.

The part of the representation that contains the significant figures (as opposed
to the base or the exponent) is known as the significand or mantissa.
Alternatively: 1. All non-zero digits are significant 2. In a number without a
decimal point, only zeros between non-zero digits are significant. 3. In a number
with a decimal point, all zeros to the right of the first non-zero digits are
significant.

The Systme International dUnits (SI), or International System of Units, defines seven units of
measure as a basic set from which all other SI units are derived. The SI base units and their
physical quantities are:

metre for length

kilogram for mass

second for time

ampere for electric current

kelvin for temperature

candela for luminous intensity

mole for the amount of substance.

The SI base quantities form a set of mutually independent dimensions as required by dimensional
analysis commonly employed in science and technology. However, in a given realization in these
units they may well be interdependent, i.e. defined in terms of each other.
The names and symbols of SI base units are written in lowercase (e.g. metre (US English: meter)
has the symbol m), except the symbols of those named after persons which are written with an initial
capital letter (i.e., the kelvin after Lord Kelvin has the symbol K and the ampere after Andr-Marie
Ampre has the symbol A).
Many other units, such as the litre (US English: liter), are formally not part of the SI, but are accepted
for use with SI.

Name

Symbo
l

Measure

Current (2005) formal

Historical origin /

definition[1]

justification

"The metre is the length of

Dimensio
n
symbol

1 10,000,000 of the

the path travelled by light in distance from

metre

length

vacuum during a time

the Earth's equator to

interval of 1 299792458 of

the North Pole

a second."

measured on the

17th CGPM (1983,

circumference

Resolution 1, CR, 97)

through Paris.

"The kilogram is the unit of

kilogra
m

mass; it is equal to the mass

kg

mass

of the international
prototype of the kilogram."
3rd CGPM (1901, CR, 70)

The mass of
one litre of water. A
litre is one thousandth

of a cubic metre.

"The second is the duration

of 9192631770 periods of
the radiation corresponding
to the transition between the
two hyperfine levels of the
ground state of the caesium
second

time

133 atom."
13th CGPM (1967/68,
Resolution 1; CR, 103)
"This definition refers to a
caesium atom at rest at a

The day is divided in

24 hours, each hour
divided in 60 minutes,
each minute divided in
60 seconds.

A second is
1 (24 60 60) of
the day

temperature of 0 K."
(Added by CIPM in 1997)

ampere

electric current "The ampere is that

constant current which, if

The original
"International Ampere"

maintained in two straight

parallel conductors of
infinite length, of negligible
circular cross-section, and
placed 1 metre apart in
vacuum, would produce
between these conductors a
force equal to 2
107newton per metre of
length."
9th CGPM (1948)

was defined
electrochemically as
the current required to
deposit 1.118
milligrams of silver per
second from a
solution of silver
nitrate. Compared to
the SI ampere, the
difference is 0.015%.

"The kelvin, unit of

thermodynamic
temperature, is the fraction
1 273.16 of the
thermodynamic temperature
of the triple point of water."

kelvin

thermodynamic
temperature

13th CGPM (1967/68,

The Celsius scale: the

Resolution 4; CR, 104)

Kelvin scale uses the

"This definition refers to

degree Celsius for its

water having the isotopic

unit increment, but is

composition defined exactly a thermodynamic

by the following amount of

scale (0 K is absolute

substance ratios:0.000 155

zero).

76 mole of H per mole

of 1H, 0.000 379 9 mole
of 17O per mole of 16O,
and 0.002 005 2 mole of 18O
per mole of 16O."
(Added by CIPM in 2005)
Atomic
mole

mol

amount of

"1. The mole is the amount

weight or molecular

substance

of substance of a system

weight divided by

which contains as many

themolar mass

elementary entities as there

are atoms in 0.012 kilogram
of carbon 12; its symbol is
'mol.'

2. When the mole is used,

the elementary entities must
be specified and may be
atoms, molecules, ions,
electrons, other particles, or constant, 1 g/mol.
specified groups of such
particles."
14th CGPM (1971,
Resolution 3; CR, 78)
"In this definition, it is
understood that unbound
atoms of carbon 12, at rest
and in their ground state,
are referred to."
(Added by CIPM in 1980)
"The candela is the
luminous intensity, in a
given direction, of a source

candela

cd

luminous
intensity

that emits monochromatic

The candlepower,

radiation of

which is based on the

12

frequency54010 hertz

light emitted from a

and that has a radiant

burning candle of

intensity in that direction of

standard properties.

1/683 watt per steradian."

16th CGPM (1979,
Resolution 3; CR, 100)

he metric system defines prefixes and corresponding symbols for positive and
negative powers of 10, as applied to each unit of measure. These prefixes are
defined for one power of ten increments in the more middle range and for three
powers of ten increments in the outlying ranges. For instance, the meter is the
standard unit of length in the metric system. The decimeter is one tenth of a
meter, the centimeter is one hundredth of a meter, the millimeter is one
thousandth of a meter, and the micrometer is one millionth of a meter. In
practice, some prefixes and/or combinations are rarely used. The kilometer (one
thousand meters) is a commonly used measure, while the dekameter (ten
meters) and the hectometer (one hundred meters) are rarely used. The prefixes
at the top and bottom of the table are mostly used in specialized mathematical
and scientific fields.
This convenient table of metric system prefixes is useful when doing metric
conversion calculations.
Metric System Prefix TablePrefixSymbolMultiplication FactorPower of
10yottaY1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000+24zettaZ1,000,000,000,000,000,000
,000+21exaE1,000,000,000,000,000,000+18petaP1,000,000,000,000,000+15teraT
1,000,000,000,000+12gigaG1,000,000,000+9megaM1,000,000+6kilok1,000+3hect
oh100+2dekada10+1decid0.1-1centic0.01-2millim0.001-3micro0.000,0016nanon0.000,000,001-9picop0.000,000,000,001-12femtof0,000,000,000,000,001-

15attoa0,000,000,000,000,000,001-18zeptoz0,000,000,000,000,000,000,00121yoctoy0,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,001-24

Conversion Factors
Length
1 kilometer (km)
1 meter (m)

1000 meters (m)

100 centimeter (cm)

1 centimeter (cm)

10-2m

1 millimeter (mm)

10-3m

1 micron ()

10-6m

1 millimicron (m)
1 angstrom (A)
1 inch (in.)
1 foot (ft)

=
=

=
=

10-9m
10-10m

2,540 cm
30,48 cm

1 mile (mi)

1 mil

10-3 in.

1 centimeter
1 meter

1,609 km

0,3937 in.

39,37 in.

Volume
1 liter (l)
=
0,03532 ft3

1000cm3

1 cubic meter (m3)

1 cubic foot (ft3)

1 British gallon

1,057 quart (qt)

1000 l

1 U.S. gallon (gal)

7,481 U.S.gal
=

231 in3

61,02 in3

35,32 ft3
=

1,201 U.S.gallon

2,2046 pounds (lb)

0,02832 m3

3,785 l
=

277,4 in3

Mass
1 kilogram (kg)
1 lb
1 slug

453,6 gm
=

32,174 lb

0,03108 slug
=

14,59 kg

0,06852 slug;

28,32 l