Which statement best describes precision in measurements?

• A. Precise measurements show very little spread about the mean value.
• B. Precision shows closeness to the true value.
• C. Precision is the same as accuracy.
• D. Precision indicates the instrument is perfect.

Answer: (A)

Precision is about how consistently measurements are repeated. When you take several measurements of the same quantity, high precision means the results cluster tightly around the same value, showing a small spread about the mean. This explains why the statement that precise measurements show very little spread around the mean is the best description. Accuracy, on the other hand, is about how close those measurements are to the true value, which is a different idea. So a set of measurements can be precise but not accurate if they’re consistently off from the true value. Also, precision doesn’t imply the instrument is perfect; you can have a very precise but biased or imperfectly calibrated instrument.