Why is knowing the percent error is helpful?
it gives an indication of how significant the amount is.
If you're off by 1 out of10 (10%) that's a lot
1 out of 1000 (0.1%) not so much
The absolute error (1) is the same, but the % error matters more.
The best first place to try on general questions like this is google.
You will find many examples, illustrations, discussions, and videos.
Oooo thank you oobleck!!!
Knowing the percent error is helpful because it provides a quantitative measure of the accuracy of a certain measurement or calculation. It allows us to compare the measured or calculated value with the true or expected value, helping us assess the reliability of our results.
To calculate the percent error, you need the experimental or calculated value and the true or accepted value. The formula to calculate percent error is:
Percent Error = (|Experimental Value - Accepted Value| / Accepted Value) x 100
Here's an example to illustrate its importance:
Suppose you measure the length of a wire to be 98 cm, but the accepted length is 100 cm. By calculating the percent error, you can determine by what percentage your measurement deviates from the accepted value. In this case, the percent error would be:
Percent Error = (|98 cm - 100 cm| / 100 cm) x 100 = 2%
By interpreting this result, you can conclude that your measurement is accurate to within 2% of the accepted value. If the percent error is small, it indicates a high degree of precision and confidence in the measurement. On the other hand, a large percent error suggests that the measurement may be inaccurate or that there might be some systematic error in the experiment or calculation.
Therefore, knowing the percent error helps us evaluate the quality of our data or calculations and identify any possible sources of error. It can also guide us in making adjustments or improvements to our methods to obtain more reliable results.