Accuracy is the degree to which a given quantity is correct and free from error. For example, a quantity specified as has an (absolute) accuracy of (meaning its true value can fall in the range 99-101), while a quantity specified as has a (relative) accuracy of (meaning its true value can fall in the range 98-102).

In significance arithmetic, an approximation with estimated absolute uncertainty has decimal accuracy . This effective measure may be negative or nonintegral; it is not a count of displayed digits to the right of the decimal point. For a nonzero approximation , the corresponding precision is , measuring relative uncertainty. Exact numbers have infinite accuracy and precision.

See also

Absolute Error, Error Propagation, Precision, Relative Error, Roundoff Error, Significant Digits

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References

Wolfram Research. "Accuracy." Wolfram Language & System Documentation Center. https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/Accuracy.html.

Referenced on Wolfram|Alpha

Accuracy

Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Accuracy." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/Accuracy.html

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