Accuracy

n.

1. Conformity to fact.
2. Precision; exactness.
3. The ability of a measurement to match the actual value of the quantity being measured.

Definition: state of being precise of correct

In the fields of science, engineering, industry and statistics, the accuracy of a measurement
system is the degree of closeness of measurements of a quantity to its actual (true) value.
The precision of a measurement system, also called reproducibility or repeatability, is the
degree to which repeated measurements under unchanged conditions show the same
results.[1] Although the two words can be synonymous in colloquial use, they are deliberately
contrasted in the context of the scientific method.

Accuracy indicates proximity of

measurement results to the true value,
precision to the repeatability or
reproducibility of the measurement

A measurement system can be accurate but not

precise, precise but not accurate, neither, or both. For example, if an experiment contains a
systematic error, then increasing the sample size generally increases precision but does not
improve accuracy. Eliminating the systematic error improves accuracy but does not change
precision.

A measurement system is called valid if it is both accurate and precise. Related terms are bias
(non-random or directed effects caused by a factor or factors unrelated by the independent
variable) and error (random variability), respectively.

The terminology is also applied to indirect measurements, that is, values obtained by a
computational procedure from observed data.

In addition to accuracy and precision, measurements may have also a measurement resolution,
which is the smallest change in the underlying physical quantity that produces a response in the
measurement.

Precision
 1. The state or quality of being precise; exactness.
2.
a. The ability of a measurement to be consistently reproduced.
b. The number of significant digits to which a value has been reliably measured.

Adj.

1. Used or intended for accurate or exact measurement: a precision tool.

2. Made so as to vary minimally from a set standard: precision components.
3. Of or characterized by accurate action: precision bombing.

In computer science, precision of a numerical quantity is a measure of the detail in which

the quantity is expressed. This is usually measured in bits, but sometimes in decimal digits. It is
related to precision in mathematics, which describes the number of digits that are used to express
a value.

In Java, one of the few programming languages with standardized precision data types, the
following precisions are defined for the standard integer numerical types of the language. The
ranges given are for signed integer values represented in standard two's complement form.

Tolerance
Allowed amount of variation from the standard or from exact conformity to
the specified dimensions, weight, etc., as in various mechanical operations;

Capability of growth in more or less shade.

In general usage, tolerance is the ability to accept the existence of something while still
disapproving of it. In social, cultural and religious contexts, tolerance and toleration are
terms used to describe attitudes which are "tolerant" (or moderately respectful) of practices
or group memberships that may be disapproved of by those in the majority.

 The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.

a.  Leeway for variation from a standard.

b. The permissible deviation from a specified value of a structural dimension, often expressed as a
percent.

 The capacity to endure hardship or pain.

 Medicine.

a. Physiological resistance to a toxin.

b. Diminution in the physiological response to a drug that occurs after continued use, necessitating
larger doses to produce a given response.
 a.  Acceptance of a tissue graft or transplant without immunological rejection.
b. Unresponsiveness to an antigen that normally produces an immunological reaction.

 The ability of an organism to resist or survive infection by a parasitic or pathogenic organism. Sci-Tech
Encyclopedia:

Tolerance

Amount of variation permitted or “tolerated” in the size of a machine part. Manufacturing

variables make it impossible to produce a part of exact dimensions; hence the designer must be
satisfied with manufactured parts that are between a maximum size and a minimum size.
Tolerance is the difference between maximum and minimum limits of a basic dimension. For
instance, in a shaft and hole fit, when the hole is a minimum size and the shaft is a maximum, the
clearance will be the smallest, and when the hole is the maximum size and the shaft the
minimum, the clearance will be the largest.

If the initial dimension placed on the drawing represents the size of the part that would be used if
it could be made exactly to size, then a consideration of the operating conditions of the pair of
mating surfaces shows that a variation in one direction from the ideal would be more dangerous
than a variation in the opposite direction. The dimensional tolerance should be in the less
dangerous direction. This method of stating tolerance is called unilateral tolerance and has
largely displaced bilateral tolerance, in which variations are given from a basic line in plus and
minus values.

Definition: fortitude, grit Antonyms: intolerance, weakness Definition: open-mindedness Antonyms:

bias, disapproval, intolerance, narrow-mindedness, prejudice

Sensitivity
 The quality or condition of being sensitive.
 The capacity of an organ or organism to respond to stimulation.
 Electronics. The degree of response of a receiver or instrument to an incoming signal or to a
change in the incoming signal; the signal strength required by an FM tuner to reduce noise and
distortion.
 The degree of response of a plate or film to light, especially to light of a specified
wavelength.

A property of a system, or part of a system, that indicates how the system reacts to stimuli. The
stimuli can be external (that is, an input signal) or a change in an element in the system. Thus,
sensitivity can be interpreted as a measure of the variation in some behavior characteristic of the
system that is caused by some change in the original value of one or more of the elements of the
system.

Sensitivity is commonly used as a figure of merit for characterizing system performance. As a

figure of merit, the sensitivity is a numerical indicator of system performance that is useful for
predicting system performance in the presence of elemental variations or comparing the relative
performance of two or more systems that ideally have the same performance. In the latter case,
the performance of the systems relative to some parameter of interest is rank-ordered by the
numerical value of the corresponding sensitivity functions. If T is the performance characteristic
and X is the element or a specified input level, then mathematically sensitivity is expressed as a
normalized derivative of T with respect to X.

A limiting factor in using the sensitivity of a system to characterize performance at low signal
levels is the noise. Noise is a statistical description of a random process inherent in all elements
in a physical system. The noise is related to the minimum signal that can be processed in a
system as a function of physical variables such as pressure, visual brightness, audible tones, and
temperature. See also Electrical noise.

There exist many situations where the sensitivity measure indicates the ability of a system to
meet certain design specifications. For example, in an electronic system the sensitivity of the
output current with respect to the variation of the power-supply voltage can be very critical. In
that case, a system with a minimum sensitivity of the output current with respect to the power-
supply voltage must be designed. Another example is a high-fidelity audio amplifier whose
sensitivity can be interpreted as the capacity of the amplifier to detect the minimum amplifiable
signal.

Definition: responsiveness to stimuliAntonyms: apathy, impassivity, imperviousness,

insensitivity, numbness

Response time
Response time is a term associated with LCD monitors and televisions.
According to online encyclopedia Wikipedia, "it translates to the amount of
time it takes for a liquid crystal cell to go from active (black) to inactive (white)
and back to active (black) again. It is measured in milliseconds (ms)."

(computer science) The delay experienced in time sharing between request and answer, a delay
which increases when the number of users on the system increases.
(control systems) The time required for the output of a control system or
element to reach a specified fraction of its new value after
application of a step input or disturbance.
(electricity) The time it takes for the pointer of an electrical or electronic instrument to come to
rest at a new value, after the quantity it measures has been abruptly changed.

Time constant
In physics and engineering, the time constant, usually denoted by the Greek letter '''' (tau), is the rise
time characterizing the response to a time-varying input of a first-order, linear time-invariant (LTI)
system. ..

(Physics) The time required for a physical quantity to rise from zero to 1-1/e (that is, 63.2%) of
its final steady value when it varies with time t as 1 - e-kt. The time required for a physical
quantity to fall to 1/e (that is, 36.8%) of its initial value when it varies with time t as e-kt.
Generally, the time required for an instrument to indicate a given percentage of the final
reading resulting from an input signal. Also known as lag coefficient.

A characteristic time that governs the approach of an exponential function to a steady-state

value. When a physical quantity is varying as a decreasing exponential function of time as in Eq.
(1), or as an increasing exponential function as in Eq. (2), the approach to the steady-state value
achieved after a long time is governed by a characteristic time T as given in Eq. (3). This time T
is called the time constant.
1.

2.

3.

When time t is zero, f(t) in Eq. (1) has the magnitude 1, and when t equals T the magnirude is
1/e. Here e is the transcendental number whose value is approximately 2.71828, and the change
in magnitude is 1 − (1/e) = 0.63212. The function has moved 63.2% of the way to its final value.
The same factor also holds for Eq. (2). See also e (mathematics).

The initial rate of change of both the increasing and decreasing functions is equal to the
maximum amplitude of the function divided by the time constant.

The concept of time constant is useful when evaluating the presence of transient phenomena.

Electronics:
(t) Time required for a capacitor in an RC circuit to charge to 63% of the remaining potential
across the circuit. Also time required for current to reach 63% of maximum value in an RL
circuit. Time constant of an RC circuit is the product of R and C. Time constant of an RL circuit
is equal to inductance divided by resistance.

In physics and engineering, the time constant, usually denoted by the Greek letter τ (tau), is the
rise time characterizing the response to a time-varying input of a first-order, linear time-invariant
(LTI) system.[1][note 1] The time constant is the main characteristic unit of a first-order LTI (linear
time-invariant) system.

In the time domain, the usual choice to explore the time response is through the step response to
a step input, or the impulse response to a Dirac delta function input.[2] In the frequency domain
(for example, looking at the Fourier transform of the step response, or using an input that is a
simple sinusoidal function of time) the time constant also determines the bandwidth of a first-
order time-invariant system, that is, the frequency at which the output signal power drops to half
the value it has at low frequencies.

The time constant also is used to characterize the frequency response of various signal
processing systems – magnetic tapes, radio transmitters and receivers, record cutting and replay
equipment, and digital filters – which can be modeled or approximated by first-order LTI
systems. Other examples include time constant used in control systems for integral and
derivative action controllers, which are often pneumatic, rather than electrical.

Time constants are a feature of the lumped system analysis (lumped capacity analysis method)
for thermal systems, used when objects cool or warm uniformly under the influence of
convective cooling or warming.[3]

Physically, the constant represents the time it takes the system's step response to reach
of its final (asymptotic) value. In radioactive decay the time constant is
called the decay constant (λ), and it represents both the mean life time of a decaying system
(such as an atom) before it decays, or the time it takes for all but 36.8% of the atoms to decay.
For this reason, the time constant is longer than the half life, which is the time for only 50% of
the atoms to decay.

Range
a.  Extent of perception, knowledge, experience, or ability.
b. The area or sphere in which an activity takes place.
c. The full extent covered: within the range of possibilities.

a.  An amount or extent of variation: a wide price range.

b. Music. The gamut of tones that a voice or instrument is capable of producing. Also called
compass.
 a.  The maximum extent or distance limiting operation, action, or effectiveness, as of a
projectile, aircraft, radio signal, or sound.
b. The maximum distance that can be covered by a vehicle with a specified payload before
its fuel supply is exhausted.
c. The distance between a projectile weapon and its target.

 A place equipped for practice in shooting at targets.

 Aerospace. A testing area at which rockets and missiles are launched and tracked.
 An extensive area of open land on which livestock wander and graze.
 The geographic region in which a plant or animal normally lives or grows.
 The act of wandering or roaming over a large area.
 Mathematics. The set of all values a given function may take on.
 Statistics. The difference or interval between the smallest and largest values in a frequency
distribution.
 A class, rank, or order: The candidate had broad support from the lower ranges of the party.
 (Abbr. Ra.) An extended group or series, especially a row or chain of mountains.
 One of a series of double-faced bookcases in a library stack room.
 (Abbr. R) A north-south strip of townships, each six miles square, numbered east and west
from a specified meridian in a U.S. public land survey.

 A stove with spaces for cooking a number of things at the same time.

v., ranged, ranging, ranges.

v.tr.

1. To arrange or dispose in a particular order, especially in rows or lines.

2. To assign to a particular category; classify.
3. To align (a gun, for example) with a target.
4.
a. To determine the distance of (a target).
b. To be capable of reaching (a maximum distance).
5. To pass over or through (an area or region).
6. To turn (livestock) onto an extensive area of open land for grazing.
7. Nautical. To uncoil (an anchor cable) on deck so the anchor may descend easily.

vainer.

1. To vary within specified limits: ages that ranged from two to five.
2. To extend in a particular direction: a river that ranges to the east.
3. To extend or lie in the same direction: "Whatsoever comes athwart his affection ranges
evenly with mine" (Shakespeare).
4. To pass over or through an area or region in or as if in exploration.
5. To wander freely; roam.
6. To live or grow within a particular region.
 SYNONYMS   range, ambit, compass, orbit, purview, reach, scope, sweep. These nouns
denote an area within which something acts, operates, or has power or control: the range
of a nuclear missile; the ambit of municipal legislation; information within the compass
of the article; countries within the political orbit of a world power; regulations under the
government's purview; outside the reach of the law; issues within the scope of an
investigation; outside the sweep of federal authority. See also synonyms at wander.

Span
n.

1. The extent or measure of space between two points or extremities, as of a bridge or roof;
the breadth.
2. The distance between the tips of the wings of an airplane.
3. The section between two intermediate supports of a bridge.
4. Something, such as a railroad trestle or bridge, that extends from one point to another.
5. The distance from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully
extended, formerly used as a unit of measure equal to about nine inches (23 centimeters).
6. A period of time: a span of life.

tr.v., spanned, span·ning, spans.

1. To measure by or as if by the fully extended hand.

2. To encircle with the hand or hands in or as if in measuring.
3. To extend across in space or time: a bridge that spans the gorge; a career that spanned
40 years.

[Middle English, unit of measurement, from Old English spann.]

span2 (spăn)
tr.v., spanned, span·ning, spans.
To bind or fetter.

n.

1. Nautical. A stretch of rope made fast at either end.

2. A pair of animals, such as oxen, matched in size, strength, or color and driven as a team.

[Dutch spannen, to harness, from Middle Dutch.]

span3 (spăn)
v. Archaic
A past tense of spin.