Question

What is the percent error of Bob's measurement?

a) 3.8%
b) 3.2%
c) 4.1%
d) 2.9%

Answer 1

Percent error measures the accuracy of a measurement compared to the true value, with the provided ±3 percent indicating the estimated range around a poll's result. Confidence intervals give the range in which the true value likely falls, and increasing sample size can reduce sampling error.

Step-by-step explanation:

The concept of percent error is used to determine the accuracy of a measurement compared to the true or accepted value. In the context provided, the ±3 percent sampling error indicates that the researchers estimate the percentage of adult Americans who consider crime the main problem to be between 18 percent and 22 percent. The confidence interval, CI: (0.18, 0.22), encompasses the true percentage with a certain level of confidence, factoring in the sampling error. To lower the sampling error, one can increase the sample size, thus potentially providing a more accurate estimate.