Theory
Determining measurement accuracy
Measurement accuracy tells you about how precisely you can read a value.
On an analog scale, you look at the smallest step between two marks.
You often take about half a scale step as the reading accuracy.
- Read the smallest scale stepFind the value between two consecutive marks.
- Take half a scale stepWhen reading an analog scale, you often use about half a scale step.
- Calculate the reading accuracyDivide the smallest scale step by 2.
A measuring instrument has smallest marks of 2 N. What is the approximate reading accuracy?
- Read the smallest scale stepThe smallest scale step is 2 N.
- Take half a scale stepThe reading accuracy is about half of the smallest scale step.
- Calculate the reading accuracy2 ÷ 2 = 1 N.