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.(4 points)
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To calculate Teresa's percent error, we can use the formula:
\[ \text{Percent Error} = \left| \frac{\text{estimated value - actual value}}{\text{actual value}} \right| \times 100 \]
In this case, the estimated height is 18 feet and the actual height is 16 feet.
Using the formula:
\[ \text{Percent Error} = \left| \frac{18 - 16}{16} \right| \times 100 \]
Simplifying the expression inside the absolute value, we get:
\[ \text{Percent Error} = \left| \frac{2}{16} \right| \times 100 \]
Dividing 2 by 16 gives us 0.125.
Thus, the percent error is:
\[ \text{Percent Error} = 0.125 \times 100 = 12.5\% \]
Therefore, Teresa's percent error is 12.5%.