In a chemistry experiment, a student measured the mass of a substance as 12.8\text{ g}. If… — JAMB UTME

In a chemistry experiment, a student measured the mass of a substance as $12.8\text{ g}$ . If the actual mass of the substance is $12.5\text{ g}$ , calculate the percentage error in the student's measurement.

Answer: 2.4 %

Answer

The percentage error in the student's measurement is

2.4\%

The percentage error is calculated by taking the absolute error (

0.3\text{ g}

), dividing it by the actual value (

12.5\text{ g}

), and multiplying the result by

100\%

, yielding

2.4\%

Step-by-Step Solution

Identify the actual value and the measured value

Actual value =

12.5\text{ g}

, Measured value =

12.8\text{ g}

Percentage error is computed relative to the true, actual value.

Calculate the absolute error

\text{Error} = |12.8 - 12.5| = 0.3\text{ g}

The error represents the difference between the measured value and the actual value.

Calculate the percentage error

\text{Percentage Error} = \frac{0.3}{12.5} \times 100\% = 2.4\%

Dividing the error by the actual value and multiplying by 100 converts the relative error into a percentage.

Key Concept

Percentage Error

Estimated Time:1m 30s

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