weighing scales are available in a variety of forms and for various uses. the different types can be used in any place right from kitchen to chemical laboratories to hospitals; their uses are far and varied.

these weighing scales fall under various categories; some of them are listed below.

I. Domestic scales
Domestic scales are those found mostly in bathrooms and kitchens of houses. They can be used for weighing bags of grocery items like a sack or wheat or rice and also for weighing you and your family. Sometimes these scales can also have a container on top to keep the weighing items. their calibrations are in 10s and go up to a 100Kilograms for most of them.

II. Precision scales
the name gives it away; they are used when extreme precision is required in weights. They are used in laboratory and scientific settings where the difference of even 0.001 units in weight can make a lot of difference and can lead to completely different results. In hospitals also at times these scales are used when doctors need to use and administer crucial drugs in very precise quantities, depending upon the age, gender, sensitivity etc.

III. Industrial scales
Industrial scales are used in many places for weighing. They are used in agriculture where tonnes of agricultural and agriculture related products (rice, wheat, fertilizers, seeds, hay etc) are weighed at a time. Platform scales and bench scales also fall in this category, and are used to weigh smaller quantities like a few grams.

IV. Commercial scales
Commercial scales also differ in shape and size depending on the industry and the company in question. so a commercial weighing scale can be used both by your jeweller and in a restaurant also!. Then there are counting scales used when the weight of one unit is known, most commonly used to count money. still more examples are of floor scales and bench scales; basically all types of scales can be used as commercial scales.

V. Miscellaneous category
these scales apart, there are spring scales too that are used in physics labs or in scientific settings to measure force or tension or buoyancy. pendulum scales, electronic analytical scales and strain gauge scales can also be used in a scientific setting .

Although the idea of using these scales is to get accurate and precise information or data, there are a number of (proven) sources of error that can and almost always do affect the final results. Some of these sources of errors include error in the mass of reference weight, buoyancy, friction, magnetic fields, evaporation, vibration disturbances, condensation etc. since most of these sources are natural in nature and can’t be helped, the results of these weighing scales are taken as accurate. In scientific settings, the formulas and equations where these results/ data are used account for the errors and make suitable adjustments.

you may not realize this but weighing scales are used rather extensively in your lives; your baby is weighed on one when it is born, the food that you feed it is weighed on one, or you buy certain packs, the veggies that you cook are weighed and of course you weigh yourself too time and again. And a minute difference here and there can have a major impact on results and consequences thereof.