1. What is Percentage Difference?

Percentage difference measures the relative difference between two values as a percentage of their average. It's useful for comparing two values where neither is clearly a reference or "correct" value.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage difference formula:

Where:

• \( v1 \) — First value
• \( v2 \) — Second value
• \( |v1 - v2| \) — Absolute difference between the values
• \( (v1 + v2)/2 \) — Average of the two values

Explanation: The formula calculates how much two numbers differ relative to their average size.

3. When to Use Percentage Difference

Details: Use percentage difference when comparing two experimental values, measuring repeatability, or when you want to quantify the difference between two quantities of the same type.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter any two numerical values. The calculator will compute their percentage difference. Values can be positive or negative (but both cannot be zero).

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: How is percentage difference different from percentage change?
A: Percentage change compares a new value to an old reference value, while percentage difference compares two equal-status values.

Q2: What does a 0% difference mean?
A: A 0% difference means the two values are identical.

Q3: What's the maximum possible percentage difference?
A: Theoretically unlimited when comparing a value to zero, but 200% when comparing a positive and negative value of the same magnitude.

Q4: Can I compare more than two values?
A: This calculator compares two values. For multiple comparisons, you might need statistical methods.

Q5: How should I interpret large percentage differences?
A: Context matters. In some fields, even small differences are significant, while in others, large differences may be acceptable.