A laboratory compares measurements obtained by three teams using identical instruments and procedures. If the results differ significantly, what does this indicate?
The reproducibility of the measurements is low.
Reproducibility is the closeness of results when the same quantity is measured under changed conditions — different operators, teams or laboratories — using the same method.
Here three teams measured with identical instruments and procedures, yet results differ significantly. This shows the reproducibility is low.
Repeatability refers to agreement when the same operator repeats measurements under identical conditions, which is not what is being compared here; accuracy is closeness to the true value, which large disagreement does not demonstrate; and a fault in the instruments is not indicated, since all teams used identical, standard instruments — the spread arises between teams, which is a reproducibility issue.
Hence, the answer is The reproducibility of the measurements is low.
Important Questions from Measuring Instruments
Instrument used to measure temperature is ____________.
- The length of a sine bar is the distance between _______.
- What is the use of hermaphrodite caliper?
- The part of the universal surface gauge which helps to draw a parallel line along a datum edge is the _______.
- The number of threads per inch can be checked with a _______.
