Question

A student measures the mass of a sample as 9.67 g. What is the percent error, given that the correct mass is 9.82 g?

Answer 1

`1.53%`

Explanation:

Percent error is defined as the absolute value of the difference between the experimental value and the exact value, divided by the exact value and multiplied by `100`

`color(blue)("% error" = ( |"experimental value" - "exact value"|)/"exact value" xx 100)`

In your case, the experimental mass of the sample is said to be equal to `"9.67 g"`. The exact value is `"9.82 g"`. This means that the percent error for this measurement is

`"% error" = ( | 9.67 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("g"))) - 9.82 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("g")))|)/(9.82 color(red)(cancel(color(black)("g")))) xx 100`

`"% error" = color(green)(1.53%)`