Accuracy, Precision,

Errors and Uncertainty

Metrology & Quality Assurance Management

MSN-4234
Outline

 Little Summary of Measurements

 Accuracy and Precision

 Errors and its types

 Uncertainty, standard deviation and

standard uncertainty
 SI Units
Measured Quantity Units Symbol
Length Meter m
Mass Kilogram Kg
Time Second s
Temperature Kelvin K
Electrical Current Ampere A
Quantity of substance Mole mol
Luminosity Candela Cd
Plane angle Radian rd
English Units

English unit Value Equivalent value

in SI

Miles 1mile=1760yard 1 mile = 1.609 km

Yard
1 yard = 3 ft 1yd = 91.44 cm

Foot
1 ft = 12 in 1 ft = 30.48 cm

Inch
in 1 in = 25.4 mm
Prefixes
Measurement Methods
1. Direct method. compare the quantity directly with the
primary or secondary standard.

1. Indirect method.
Measurement
Exercise
 Measurement Units

State the tool (s) you would use to measure

A. temperature __________________

B. volume ____________________

C. time ____________________

D. weight ____________________
 …the weight of
one grape, jelly bean,
or paperclip?

•Gram
•Ounce
•pound
•Kilogram
…the length of a
crayon?

•Centimeters
•Feet
•Yards
•Meters
•Cups
•Liters
•Gallons
… the amount of coffee
that will fill
this container?
…the height of
a giraffe?

•Centimeters
•Inches
•Meters
•Feet
 …the weight of this
backpack when filled
with books?

•Grams
•Ounces
•pounds
•Kilograms
 The amount of water
that will fill a tub?

•Cups
•Pints
•Gallons
Limits of Measurement

Accuracy and Precision

 Accuracy and Precision
 In 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.
 The Precision of a measurement system,
also called reproducibility or repeatability, is
the degree to which repeated measurements
under unchanged conditions show the same
results
Accuracy and Precision
A Measurement System can be
Accurate but not Precise,
Precise but not Accurate,
neither, or both
 A Valid Measurement System
 If an experiment contains a systematic
error, result would be a consistent
(precise) yet inaccurate string of results
 Eliminating the systematic error
improves accuracy but does not change
precision
 A measurement system is considered
valid if it is both accurate and precise
 Measurement Resolution

A measurement resolution is
the smallest change in the
underlying physical quantity
that produces a response in
the measurement
Accuracy and Precision Representation

 Accuracy is also the nearness of a

calculation to the true value;
typically defined by Error (%)
 while Precision is the resolution of
the representation, typically defined
by the number of decimal
 Exercise. Accurate - Precise - Both

A/ Accurate B/Not Accurate C/Accurate

Not Precise Precise Precise

A/ could be inexperience shooter or poor equipment r both

B/ has most probably poor equipment
C/ the shooter & his equipment shown Perfect Result
 Accuracy & Precision

 Accuracy:
 How close you are to the
actual value
 Depends on the person
measuring
 Calculated by the
formula:
% Error = (YV – AV) x 100 ÷ AV
Where: YV is YOUR measured Value &
AV is the Accepted Value
 Precision:
 How finely tuned your
measurements are or
how close they can
be to each other
 Depends on the
measuring tool
 Determined by the
number of significant
digits
 Significant Digits & Precision
What is the length of the bar?

 How many digits

are there in the
measurement? 0 1 2 3 4

 All of these digits

cm

are significant Length of Bar = 3.23 cm

 There are 3 sd
Measurements Errors
 Measurements Errors :
Is the difference between the true value of the size and the
value found by measurement.
 Errors pertains to measurement not to an
instrument.
Error = True Size – Actual Size
 True Size: is the theoretical size obtained through
measurement. This type of size is free from any type of
error. It is the guide for measuring many properties such
as accuracy of an instrument.
 Actual Size: is a measured size with permissible error. It
refers to the minimum acceptable size of a sample.
Measurements Errors (cont.)
 There are two general categories of error:
systematic (or bias) errors and random (or
precision) errors.

Errors
• Systemati
c
• Random
Systematic Errors
 Systematic errors (also called bias errors)
They are consistent, repeatable errors. For example,
suppose the first two millimeters of a ruler are worn
off, and the user is not aware of it. Everything he or
she measures will be too short by two millimeters – a
systematic error.
 Systematic Errors Sources
Systematic errors arise for many reasons. Here are just a few:
 Calibration Errors: due to nonlinearity or errors in the calibration
method.
 Loading or Intrusion Errors: the sensor may actually change the
very thing it is trying to measure.
 Spatial Errors: arise when a quantity varies in space, but a
measurement is taken only at one location (e.g. temperature in a
room - usually the top of a room is warmer than the bottom).
 Human Errors: arise if a person consistently reads a scale on the
low side, for example.
 Defective Equipment Errors: arise if the instrument consistently
reads too high or too low due to some internal problem or damage.
Random Errors
 Random errors
They are unrepeatable, inconsistent errors,
resulting in scatter in the output data.
The random error of one data point is defined
as the reading minus the average of
readings.
 Other Sources of Errors
There are many other errors, which all have technical names,
as defined here:
 Zero Error: The instrument does not read zero when the
input is zero. Zero error is a type of bias error that offsets all
measurements taken by the instrument, but can usually be
corrected by some kind of zero offset adjustment.
 Linearity Error: The output deviates from the calibrated
linear relationship between the input and the output.
Linearity error is a type of bias error, but unlike zero error,
the degree of error varies with the magnitude of the reading.
Other Sources of Errors (Cont.)
 Sensitivity Error: The slope of the output vs. input
curve is not calibrated exactly in the first place. Since
this affects all readings by the instrument, this is a
type of systematic or bias error.
 Resolution Error: The output precision is limited to
discrete steps (e.g., if one reads to the nearest
millimeter on a ruler, the resolution error is around +/-
1 mm). Resolution error is a type of random or
precision error.
Other Sources of Errors (Cont.)
 Hysteresis Error: The output is different, depending on
whether the input is increasing or decreasing at the time
of measurement. This is a separate error from
instrument repeatability error.
 Instrument Repeatability Error: The instrument gives a
different output, when the input returns to the same
value. The reasons for the differences and the procedure
to get to that value are usually random, so instrument
repeatability error is a type of random error.
Other Sources of Errors (Cont.)
 Parallax: This error can occur whenever there is
some distance between the measuring scale and the
indicator used to obtain a measurement. If the
observer's eye is not squarely aligned with the
pointer and scale, the reading may be too high or
low (some analog meters have mirrors to help with
this alignment).
Other Sources of Errors (Cont.)
 Environmental factors: Be aware of errors
introduced by your immediate working environment.
You may need to take account for or protect your
experiment from vibrations, drafts, changes in
temperature, electronic noise or other effects from
nearby apparatus.
 Reading Error: describes such factors as parallax,
interpolation, or optical resolution.
 Loading Error: results from the change of the
measurement instrument when it is being used.
 Effect of support.
 Dirt.
Other Sources of Errors (Cont.)
 Errors due to Vibrations.
 Metallurgical Effects.
 Contact Point Penetration.
 Errors due to Deflection.
 Errors due to Looseness.
 Errors due to Wear in Gauges.
 Errors due to Location.
 Errors due to Poor Contact.
 Errors due to Impression of Measuring Stylus.
Uncertainty
 Uncertainty of measurement is the doubt that
exists about the result of measurement.

 You might think that well made rulers, clocks and

thermometers should be trustworthy and give right
answer,
 But for every measurement –
there is always a margin of
doubt.
 Since there is a ways to explain a margin
about any measurement, now we need to ask
“How big is the margin” and “How bad is the
doubt”

 It must be clear that two things are really

needed to define uncertainty
1- width of the margin – Interval
2- How much we are sure that the true value
is within the margin-Confidence Level
Example:
 Length of a certain stick measures 20
centimeters plus or minus 1 cm, at the 95 %
confidence level, this could be written as

20 cm ± 1 cm, at 95 % confidence level

What does this statement mean ?

 OBJECTIVES

The learners are expected to:

a. Calculate the Standard
Deviation of a given set of data.
b. Calculate the Variance of a
given set of data.
 STANDARD DEVIATION

 is a special form of average

deviation from the mean.
 is the positive square root of
the arithmetic mean of the
squared deviations from the
mean of the distribution.
 STANDARD DEVIATION

 is considered as the most

reliable measure of variability.
 is affected by the individual
values or items in the
distribution.
Standard Deviation for
Ungrouped Data
 How to Calculate the Standard
Deviation for Ungrouped Data

1. Find the Mean.

2. Calculate the difference
between each score and the
mean.
3. Square the difference
between each score and the
mean.
 How to Calculate the Standard
Deviation for Ungrouped Data

4. Add up all the squares of the

difference between each
score and the mean.
5. Divide the obtained sum by n
– 1.
6. Extract the positive square
root of the obtained quotient.
 Find the Standard Deviation

35 73
35 11
35 49
35 35
35 15
35 27
210 210
Mean= 35 Mean= 35
 Find the Standard Deviation
x x-ẋ (x-ẋ)2 x x-ẋ (x-ẋ)2
35 0 0 73 38 1444
35 0 0 11 -24 576
35 0 0 49 14 196
35 0 0 35 0 0
35 0 0 15 -20 400
35 0 0 27 -8 64
∑(x-ẋ)2 0 ∑(x-ẋ)2 2680
Find the Standard Deviation