Teresa estimates that the height of a giraffe in a zoo is 18 feet. In fact, it is 16 feet tall. What is Teresa's percent error? Use proportional relationships to solve the problem. Be sure to show all your work, provide your answer as a percentage, and round your answer to the nearest tenth.
can you simplify how you got your answer?
To find Teresa's percent error, we need to use the formula:
Percent error = |(Estimated value - Actual value)/Actual value| * 100
Plugging in the given values, we have:
Percent error = |(18 - 16)/16| * 100
Simplifying inside the absolute value, we have:
Percent error = |2/16| * 100
Simplifying the fraction, we have:
Percent error = |1/8| * 100
Finding the absolute value, we have:
Percent error = (1/8) * 100
Calculating the fraction and multiplying by 100, we have:
Percent error ≈ 0.125 * 100 = 12.5
Therefore, Teresa's percent error is approximately 12.5%.