Final answer:
Accuracy is how closely a measurement matches the correct value, while precision is how consistently repeated measurements under the same conditions produce similar results. Comprehensive measurements are both accurate and precise, ensuring reliability and reproducibility.
Step-by-step explanation:
Understanding Accuracy and Precision
Accuracy is the degree to which a measurement aligns with the correct or accepted value for that measurement. For instance, if you measure a piece of paper and the result is close to the standard length of 11.0 inches, your measurement is accurate. Precision, on the other hand, is the degree to which repeated measurements under unchanged conditions show the same results. If you measure a piece of paper several times and get results that are very close to each other, your measurements are precise.
It is important to note that measurements can be both accurate and precise, neither accurate nor precise, or one without the other. For example, if you shoot arrows at a target, hitting the bullseye consistently indicates both high precision and high accuracy. However, hitting the same spot outside the bullseye consistently would be precise but not accurate.
Scientists aim for both high accuracy and precision to ensure the reliability of their measurements. When a measurement is both accurate and precise, it is said to be comprehensive. Reproducibility is a key feature of precise measurements, which means precise values can be obtained repeatedly under the same conditions.