What does the term precision refer to in a set of experimental measurements?

Precision specifically refers to the closeness of multiple measurements to each other, highlighting the consistency or repeatability of results when an experiment is carried out under the same conditions. When a set of measurements is precise, it indicates that the values are tightly clustered together, regardless of whether they are close to the true or accepted value (which is a concept related to accuracy).

In contrast, accuracy pertains to how close a measurement is to the true value, rather than to the other measurements in the set. The average of all measurements taken, while reflective of a central tendency, does not inherently convey the degree of consistency among the individual values. Similarly, the range of values provides information about the spread between the highest and lowest measurements, but does not indicate how closely the individual measurements align with each other. Therefore, the most appropriate definition of precision in this context is the closeness of several measurements to one another.