EQ- What is percent of error and how do I calculate it?
Error- The difference between an approximate and exact value.
Percent Error – the difference between approximate and exact values written as a
percentage of the exact value.
Formula:
% error = |estimated value - actual value| x 100 %
actual value
How to calculate:
Step 1: Calculate the error (subtract one value form the other) and take the absolute value.
Step 2: Divide the error by the exact value (you will get a decimal number)
Step 3: Convert that to a percentage (by multiplying by 100 and adding a "%" sign)
Example:
Jamal needs to purchase a countertop for his kitchen. Jamal measured the countertop as 5
ft. The actual measurement is 4.5 ft. What is Jamal’s percent error?