Question

A technician experimentally determined the boiling point of octane to be 124.1°c. the actual boiling point of octane is 125.7°c. calculate the error and the percent error.

Answer 1

Boiling point of octane experimentally =
`124.1^(0)C`

Actual boiling point of octane =
`125.7^(0)C`

Error = Experimental value - Accepted value

Error =
`124.1^(0)C-125.7^(0)C`

=
`-1.6^(0)C`

Now, calculate the percent error:

Percent error =
`(\left | Error \right |)/(accepted value)`

=
`(\left | -1.6^(0)C \right |)/(125.7^(0)C)* 100 percent`

=
`0.0127* 100 percent`

=
`1.27 percent \simeq 1.3 percent`

Thus, error is
`-1.6^(0)C` and percentage error is
`1.3 percent`.