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Glossary Math & Statistics

Percent error

Percent error compares a measured value with the true value as a percentage: `|measured − true| / |true| × 100`.

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In more detail

Measuring gravity as 9.8 m/s² against the accepted 9.81 gives an error of 0.102%. It needs a known true value; without one, use the percent difference between two measurements.

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Percent Error Calculator

Find the percent, signed, and absolute error between an experimental (measured) value and a theoretical (accepted) value.

See also

  • Glossary Percentage
    A percentage expresses a number as a part of 100, so 25% means 25 out of every 100, or one quarter.
  • Glossary Significant figures
    Significant figures are the digits in a number that carry meaning about its precision, starting from the first non-zero digit.
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