A three-point calibration uses 0%, 50%, and 100% of span. What does this arrangement ensure?

A three-point calibration uses 0%, 50%, and 100% of span. What does this arrangement ensure?

• A. Calibrates at zero, mid-span, and full-scale
• B. Calibrates at zero, full-scale, and random
• C. Calibrates at mid-span, and two random points
• D. Calibrates only at zero and full-scale

Answer: (A)

Three-point calibration anchors the measurement across the full range by using three known input levels: the bottom, the middle, and the top of the span. Using 0%, 50%, and 100% means the device is calibrated at zero, mid-span, and full-scale, ensuring the mapping from input to output is accurate throughout the entire range. This setup helps correct not only offset and gain errors but also any nonlinearity that can appear between the ends. With only two points, you’d be assuming a perfect straight-line response; adding the middle point reveals and compensates for curvature, giving reliable accuracy from bottom to top. Calibrating at random points wouldn’t guarantee coverage of the center or ends, so it wouldn’t provide the same level of assurance across the full span.

Three-point calibration anchors the measurement across the full range by using three known input levels: the bottom, the middle, and the top of the span. Using 0%, 50%, and 100% means the device is calibrated at zero, mid-span, and full-scale, ensuring the mapping from input to output is accurate throughout the entire range. This setup helps correct not only offset and gain errors but also any nonlinearity that can appear between the ends. With only two points, you’d be assuming a perfect straight-line response; adding the middle point reveals and compensates for curvature, giving reliable accuracy from bottom to top. Calibrating at random points wouldn’t guarantee coverage of the center or ends, so it wouldn’t provide the same level of assurance across the full span.