Chapter 3 Flashcards
absolute uncertainty
An expression of the margin of uncertainty associated with a measurement. Absolute error also could refer to the difference between a measured value and the “true” value.
accuracy
A measure of how close a measured value is to the “true” value.
antilogarithm
The antilogarithm of a is b if 10^a = b
certified reference material
Samples sold by national measurement institutes and containing known quantities of analytes to test accuracy of analytical procedures. The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology calls its certified materials Standard Reference Materials.
characteristic
The part of a logarithm at the left of the decimal point.
determinate error
Systematic error, Error due to procedural or instrumental factors that cause a measurement to be consistently too large or too small. The error can, in principle, be discovered and corrected.
indeterminate error
random error, A type of error, which can be either positive or negative and cannot be eliminated, based on the ultimate limitations on a physical measurement.
mantissa
The part of a logarithm to the right of the decimal point.
precision
How well replicate measurements agree with each other.
random error
A type of error, which can be either positive or negative and cannot be eliminated, based on the ultimate limitations on a physical measurement.
relative uncertainty
Uncertainty of a quantity divided by the value of the quantity. It is usually expressed as a percentage of the measured quantity.
systematic error
Error due to procedural or instrumental factors that cause a measurement to be consistently too large or too small. The error can, in principle, be discovered and corrected.
