Carter measures a line to be 7.19 ft long. If the actual measurement is 7 ft, find Carter's relative error to the nearest thousandth.

1 answer

To find Carter's relative error, we use the formula for relative error:

\[ \text{Relative Error} = \frac{|\text{Measured Value} - \text{Actual Value}|}{|\text{Actual Value}|} \]

In this case:

  • Measured Value = 7.19 ft
  • Actual Value = 7 ft

Now, we can plug in the values:

\[ \text{Relative Error} = \frac{|7.19 - 7|}{|7|} = \frac{|0.19|}{7} \]

Next, we calculate the fraction:

\[ \text{Relative Error} = \frac{0.19}{7} \approx 0.02714285714 \]

Now, we round this to the nearest thousandth:

\[ \text{Relative Error} \approx 0.027 \]

Thus, Carter's relative error is approximately 0.027.