Question

Find the absolute and relative errors in the following situation

Your bike speedometer reads 23 miles per hour when you are actually traveling 27 miles per hour.
The absolute error is _____miles per hour. (Type an integer or decimal rounded to the nearest tenth as needed)

Answer 1

The absolute error of the bike speedometer is 4 miles per hour, and the relative error is approximately 14.8% when the actual speed is 27 miles per hour and the speedometer shows 23 miles per hour.

To find the absolute error of the bike speedometer, we subtract the speedometer reading from the actual speed. In this case, the actual speed is 27 miles per hour and the speedometer reads 23 miles per hour. Therefore, the absolute error is calculated as follows:

Absolute error = Actual speed - Speedometer reading

Absolute error = 27 mph - 23 mph

Absolute error = 4 miles per hour

To determine the relative error, we divide the absolute error by the actual value. The formula is:

Relative error = (Absolute error / Actual speed) × 100%

Relative error = (4 mph / 27 mph) × 100%

Relative error = 14.8% (rounded to the nearest tenth)