A system's sensitivity is set during calibration. When sensitivity deviates from the ideal value this is called sensitivity error, gain error, or scaling error. Offset error occurs when a constant value is added to the output voltage of the system. However, should the offset error change after the system is zeroed, error will be introduced into the measurement. Temperature change is the primary factor in offset error.
Sensitivity can vary slightly between any two points of data.
This variation is called linearity error. The linearity specification is the measurement of how far the output varies from a straight line. To calculate the linearity error, calibration data is compared to the straight line that would best fit the points. This straight reference line is calculated from the calibration data using a technique called least squares fitting. The amount of error at the point on the calibration line that is furthest away from this ideal line is the linearity error.