1. What is Percent Error?

Percent error is a measure of how inaccurate a measurement is, compared to the true or accepted value. It's expressed as a percentage and provides insight into the accuracy of experimental results.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percent error formula:

Where:

• \( experimental \) — The measured or experimental value
• \( accepted \) — The known or theoretical value

Explanation: The absolute difference between experimental and accepted values is divided by the accepted value, then multiplied by 100 to get a percentage.

3. Importance of Significant Figures

Details: Significant figures represent the precision of a measurement. When reporting percent error, it's important to round to the appropriate number of significant figures to properly reflect the precision of your measurements.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter your experimental value, the accepted value, and the number of significant figures you want in your result. The calculator will compute the percent error and round it to the specified number of significant figures.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What's considered a good percent error?
A: This depends on the field, but generally under 5% is good, under 1% is excellent, and over 10% may indicate problems.

Q2: Can percent error be negative?
A: No, because we use absolute value in the calculation. The direction of error isn't indicated by percent error.

Q3: What if my accepted value is zero?
A: Percent error is undefined when the accepted value is zero, as it would require division by zero.

Q4: How do I determine significant figures?
A: Count all digits from the first non-zero digit, including trailing zeros after a decimal point.

Q5: Why is rounding to significant figures important?
A: It prevents overstating the precision of your results and maintains consistency with your measurement precision.