Question

Debbie estimated that a caterpillar was 4.5 cm long. Later, she found its actual length to be 4.8 cm. Find the percent error.

Answer 1

Percent error = 6.25%

Explanation:

Percentage error can be defined as a measure of the extent to which an experimental value differs from the theoretical value.

Mathematically, it is given by this expression;

`Percent \; error = \frac {experimental \;value - theoretical \; value}{ theoretical \;value} *100`

Given the following data;

Experimental value = 4.5cm

Theoretical value = 4.8cm

Substituting into the equation, we have;

`Percent \; error = \frac {4.8 - 4.5 }{ 4.8} *100`

`Percent \; error = \frac {0.3}{4.8} *100`

`Percent \; error = 0.0625 *100`

Percent error = 6.25%