If you get confused between accuracy and precision, don’t worry, we will help you to understand these terms and will clear the difference between them.

Accuracy is the ability to provide exact value while precision is the ability to reproduce the same value. Accuracy is the state of being correct whereas precision is state of being exact. Precision speaks about the quality and accuracy doesn’t speak about the quality. Accuracy has a single factor but precision has multiple factors.

To understand better, it becomes necessary to go into depth and know both the terms individually.

Accuracy

Accuracy refers to the actual measurement and absolute measurement. It represents how closely results agree with the standard value. Accuracy is the degree of conformity. Accuracy has a single factor. It is the measure of quantity to reality. Accuracy is concerned with systematic error and accuracy, bad results would be far from the actual value.

In subjects like math, science, and engineering accuracy is how close a measurement is from the true value. Accuracy can also be defined as the level of correctness of measurement from the actual value.

Precision

Precision is the ability to reproduce the same value and it involves the level of variation that lies in the value of several measurements of the same factor. It represents how closely the result agrees with one another. Precision is the degree of reproducibility. Precision has multiple factors. It is the measure of statistical variability.

Precision speaks about quality and is concerned with random error. It measures how well measurements can be reproduced. Precision is how results are consistent when they are repeated.

Now have a look at the difference between accuracy and precision to clear all the doubts.

Represents

Accuracy represents how closely results agree with the standard value while precision represents how closely the result agrees with one another.

Factor

Accuracy has a single factor but precision has multiple factors.

Concerned with

Accuracy is concerned with a systematic error while precision is concerned with random error.

Measure

Accuracy is the measure of quantity to reality whereas precision measures how well measurements can be reproduced.