Final answer:
Percent error is a mathematical concept used to determine the accuracy of a measurement by comparing the experimental value to the theoretical value as a percentage. The calculation involves taking the absolute difference between the two values, dividing by the theoretical value, and then multiplying by 100%. An example calculation showed that the percent error is 7.14%, which rounds to option C (7.0%) for a possible question.
Step-by-step explanation:
The concept of percent error is typically confronted in the subject of Mathematics or within the sciences when discussing measurement precision and accuracy. To calculate percent error, one would use the formula:
Percent Error = (|Experimental Value - Theoretical Value| / Theoretical Value) × 100%
This calculation is used to determine the difference, expressed as a percentage, between a measured or experimental value and a true or theoretical value. For instance, if a student measures a substance to weigh 75 grams but the actual weight is known to be 70 grams, the percent error would be calculated like this:
- |75 - 70| / 70 × 100% = 5 / 70 × 100% = 7.14%.
Thus, the percent error in this case would be 7.14%, which aligns with answer option C (7.0%) if we are rounding to the nearest whole number. It's important to note that the percent error can never be greater than 100 percent, as it represents the proportion of the error to the known value, thus eliminating options that suggest it could be 0 percent or greater than 100 percent.