The masses and weights of different objects are independently measured. The graph is a plot of weight versus mass that includes error bars.

These experimental results suggest that the

A.     measurements show a significant systematic error but small random error.

B.     measurements show a significant random error but small systematic error.

C.     measurements are precise but not accurate.

D.     weight of an object is proportional to its mass.

A

As the weights of different objects are plotted against the corresponding masses of those objects, it is expected that the data plotted would yield a best fitting straight line that passed through the origin. Given that the best fitting line for the data plotted is straight but does not pass through the origin and that the uncertainty bars are small, it is indicated that the measurements show a significant systematic error but a small random error.