A student is using a graduated cylinder to measure the volume of water and reports a reading of 18 mL. The teacher reports the value as 18.4 mL. What is the...
A student is using a graduated cylinder to measure the volume of water and reports a reading of 18 mL. The teacher reports the value as 18.4 mL. What is the student's percent error?
Answer Details
The student's percent error can be calculated by using the formula:
Percent Error = |(Measured Value - True Value) / True Value| * 100%
In this case, the measured value is 18 mL, and the true value reported by the teacher is 18.4 mL.
Let's substitute the values into the formula:
|(18 mL - 18.4 mL) / 18.4 mL| * 100%
Simplifying the formula:
|(-0.4 mL) / 18.4 mL| * 100%
Taking the absolute value of the fraction:
|-0.0217| * 100%
Calculating the absolute value:
0.0217 * 100%
Multiplying by 100%:
2.17%
Therefore, the student's percent error is 2.17%.
Note: It is important to note that in this case, the student's measurement was lower than the true value, causing a negative difference. By taking the absolute value of the fraction in the formula, we ignore the negative sign and only consider the magnitude of the error.