Which term describes the degree of closeness between a measured value and its actual value?

The term that describes the degree of closeness between a measured value and its actual value is accuracy. Accuracy reflects how close a measured result is to the true or accepted value. In scientific measurements, achieving high accuracy means that the results align closely with the true value, which is crucial for validating experimental outcomes and ensuring that conclusions drawn from data are sound.

Precision, on the other hand, refers to the repeatability of measurements — that is, how consistently you can obtain the same value under the same conditions, regardless of whether that value is close to the true value. Reliability entails the consistency of a test or measurement across different trials or instances, while consistency focuses on the uniformity of results over time or across different measurements.

Understanding these distinctions is essential in scientific practices, as ensuring both accuracy and precision is critical for obtaining valid and trustworthy data.