Joshua uses his thermometer and finds the boiling point of ethyl alcohol to be 75°C. He looks in a science reference book and finds that the actual boiling point of Ethan all alcohol is 80°C. What is his percentage error?
To calculate the percentage error, we use the formula:
Percentage Error = (|Measured Value - Actual Value| / Actual Value) * 100
First, we need to find the absolute difference between the measured value and the actual value:
Absolute difference = |Meaured Value - Actual Value| = |75°C - 80°C| = 5°C
Next, we divide this absolute difference by the actual value and multiply by 100 to get the percentage error:
Percentage Error = (5°C / 80°C) * 100 ≈ 6.25%
Therefore, Joshua's percentage error is approximately 6.25%.