Question

The molecular mass of glass (SiO2) was measured at 58.2 g/mol. The accepted value is 60.0 g/mol. Calculate the percent error.

Answer 1

Answer: 3.00% error

Step-by-step explanation:

% error =
`(|measured - accepted|)/(accepted)` x 100%

Our measured value is 58.2 g/mol and our accepted value is 60.0 g/mol. The absolute value is used in the numerator since we cannot have a negative value for %.

`(|58.2-60.0|)/(60.0)` x 100% = 0.03 x 100%
= 3.00% error

Bonus tip: there are many different terms for measured and accepted, below are a couple that I see most. The measured value is the value we got in a lab while the accepted value is the value that we would get if we were in completely ideal conditions for the lab.

- Different terms for measured: actual, experimental

- Different terms for accepted: known, theoretical

I hope this helps! :)