Question

interpreting mass data
comparing precision
compare the data collected by two scientists conducting the same experiment.

scientist 1
trial # | mass (g)
1 | 16.2
2 | 16.1
3 | 16.3
average | 16.2

which statement best describes the relative precision of the two scientists?

• scientist 1 has greater precision than scientist 2.
• scientist 2 has greater precision than scientist 1.
• both scientists have the same level of precision.

Explanation:

To determine precision, we analyze the spread of data. However, since Scientist 2's data is not provided, but assuming the question's context (maybe a common problem where Scientist 2's data has more spread or Scientist 1's data is close). Wait, no—wait, the given table for Scientist 1 has trials 16.2, 16.1, 16.3. The differences from the average (16.2) are 0, -0.1, +0.1. If Scientist 2's data (not shown here, but in typical problems) might have larger deviations, but in the options, the first option is "Scientist 1 has greater precision than scientist 2"—assuming that Scientist 2's data has more variation. Since Scientist 1's measurements are close to each other (16.1, 16.2, 16.3) with small differences, indicating higher precision.

Answer:

Scientist 1 has greater precision than scientist 2.