Question

A student measures the length of a football field and reports it to be 294 feet long. The actual length of the field is 300 feet. What is the percentage error in the student's measurement?
1%
2%
3%
4%

Answer 1

To calculate the percentage error in the student's measurement, you can use the following formula:

\[
\text{Percentage Error} = \left( \frac{\text{Absolute Error}}{\text{True Value}} \right) \times 100
\]

Where:
- Absolute Error = |Measured Value - True Value|

In this case:
- Measured Value = 294 feet
- True Value = 300 feet

First, calculate the absolute error:

\[
\text{Absolute Error} = |294 - 300| = | -6| = 6 \text{ feet}
\]

Now, plug in the values to calculate the percentage error:

\[
\text{Percentage Error} = \left( \frac{6}{300} \right) \times 100
\]

\[
\text{Percentage Error} = 0.02 \times 100 = 2\%
\]

Therefore, the percentage error in the student's measurement is **2%**.