Resolution limits in instrumentation cause which effect?

Resolution limits in instrumentation cause which effect?

• A. Random noise
• B. Nonlinearity
• C. The smallest detectable change in measurement is larger than the actual change
• D. Drift over time

Answer: (C)

Resolution limits define how finely an instrument can distinguish small changes in a signal. When resolution is limited, the output can only change in discrete steps. If an input change is smaller than one step, the instrument can’t resolve it, so the smallest change you can detect is larger than the actual change. This is the quantization effect you see in digital readouts and ADCs, where measurements jump in fixed increments (the least significant bit). Random noise would cause random fluctuations around a value, drift over time would shift the baseline gradually, and nonlinearity would distort the proportional relationship between input and output. These are separate issues and not caused by the instrument’s resolution limit.

Resolution limits define how finely an instrument can distinguish small changes in a signal. When resolution is limited, the output can only change in discrete steps. If an input change is smaller than one step, the instrument can’t resolve it, so the smallest change you can detect is larger than the actual change. This is the quantization effect you see in digital readouts and ADCs, where measurements jump in fixed increments (the least significant bit).

Random noise would cause random fluctuations around a value, drift over time would shift the baseline gradually, and nonlinearity would distort the proportional relationship between input and output. These are separate issues and not caused by the instrument’s resolution limit.