__________ is how closely a measurement is to an actual value.

• A. Precision
• B. Accuracy
• C. Sensitivity
• D. Bias

Answer: (B)

Closeness to the actual value is what accuracy measures. When you measure something, accuracy means your readings land near the true value. For example, a scale used to verify part weight should show numbers that match the real weight; if the average of many measurements equals the true weight, it’s accurate, even if individual readings vary a bit due to random noise. Precision, on the other hand, is about repeatability—the readings are tightly clustered with little spread, regardless of whether they hit the true value. A very precise but biased scale would give consistent results that are wrong on average. Sensitivity refers to the instrument’s ability to detect small changes, not how close the readings are to the true value. Bias is a systematic error that consistently shifts measurements away from the true value. So the term that describes how closely a measurement matches the actual value is accuracy.