Grade 10 · Science · Chemistry

10th grade Accuracy, precision and percent error worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

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Accuracy, precision and percent error

Grade 10 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

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Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

A class measures the density of water as 1.02 g/cm³. The accepted value is 0.99802 g/cm³ (USGS, 21 °C). What is the percent error, to 0.01%, Ari?
A class measures the density of sugar as 1.55 g/cm³. The accepted value is 1.5805 g/cm³ (CRC Handbook). What is the percent error, to 0.01%, Bo?
3.
On the card, which target shows results that are both accurate and precise, Jun?
- B
- C
- A
4.
On the card, how would you describe target B, Kira?
Use the picture in question 3.
- Accurate and precise
- Accurate, not precise
- Precise, not accurate
5.
On the card, why isn't target C precise, Luz?
Use the picture in question 3.
- It has too few dots
- Its dots are spread widely
- Its dots miss the center
6.
What does accuracy describe, Milo?
- Closeness to the accepted value
- How many trials were done
- Closeness of results to each other
7.
What does precision describe, Noah?
- How expensive the tool is
- Closeness of results to each other
- Closeness of results to the accepted value
8.
A balance gives 5.01, 5.02 and 5.01 g for the same sugar cube. What does this show, Pia?
- The readings are precise
- The cube is changing mass
- The balance is broken
9.
What does percent error measure, Tala?
- How close the trials are to each other
- How far a result is from accepted
- How long the lab took
10.
Why does percent error use the absolute value of the difference, Zee?
- So the final answer comes out bigger
- So the units cancel
- So it is a size, not a direction

Accuracy, precision and percent error. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

I can tell accuracy (close to the accepted value) from precision (close to each other).
I can find percent error = |measured − accepted| ÷ accepted × 100, and the mean of trials.
I can name a likely source of error in a described lab and say whether it is systematic or random.
I can say how to make a measurement more precise or more reliable.

Standard: practices (no PE)

accuracy: How close a result is to the accepted value

precision: How close repeated results are to each other

accepted value: A trusted value from a reference, such as the CRC Handbook

systematic error: An error that shifts every reading the same way

random error: Small, unpredictable differences that scatter readings both ways

Your child divided by the measured value. Percent error compares with the accepted value, so divide by that.

Your child added the trials but didn't divide. The mean is the total ÷ the number of trials.

Your child used one trial. Average the trials first, then compare the mean with the accepted value.

What is the most common mistake with accuracy, precision and percent error?

Your child divided by the measured value. Percent error compares with the accepted value, so divide by that.

Are these 10th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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