What is the smallest change in the input signal that can be detected by an instrument called?

Accuracy: It is the degree of closeness with which the reading approaches the true value of the quantity to be measured.

Precision: It is the measure of reproducibility i.e., given a fixed value of a quantity, precision is a measure of the degree of agreement within a group of measurements.

• The precision of an instrument does not guarantee accuracy
• An instrument with more significant figures has more precision
• Deflection factor is reciprocal of sensitivity

Resolution: The smallest change in output to the change in input is known as resolution. Resolution is the smallest measurable input change.

Sensitivity: It is defined as the ratio of the changes in the output of an instrument to a change in the value of the quantity being measured. It denotes the smallest change in the measured variable to which the instrument responds.

Deflection factor or inverse sensitivity is the reciprocal of sensitivity.