Accuracy and Precision
CHM/110

Accuracy and Precision
Accuracy and precision are used for measurements. The term accuracy means to have the exact value. The term precision means to be comprehensive and exact. The accuracy of a value is the measure of how closely the results agree with a true or accepted value. Precision of a value is the measurement of the reliability of the experiment.
I never thought that almost everything we do in our everyday lives could be considered using chemistry. The first example is gasoline, especially considering the price of gas now. If someone is advertising $4.05/gallon but their pump is really charging that much for every 4/5 of a gallon, the pump is precise because it keeps charging the same for everyone but it would not be accurate.
The second example is medications; medications have to be extremely accurate measurements. When the doctor gives a certain medication they are assuming a level of accuracy from the medication. If it is inaccurate a person can die from taking that dose. Therefore if medication is precise but not accurate that could mean anything. A pharmaceutical company can be precise in producing pills with the same dosage, but if that dosage isn't accurate than it could kill someone.
The third example is baking; when you're making a ton of cookies for a fundraiser or something and so you start making batch after batch of cookies. However, it isn't until the 8th batch that you realize you've been using the tablespoon to measure our salt instead of the teaspoon. All your cookies are going to taste the same but they aren't going to be very good because they are going to be too salty. There for your accuracy and precision in baking your cookies is not going to be right at all and you will have many unhappy customers.
Here are three ways that accuracy and precision are used in my life. The first, the bathroom