Question

Teresa estimates that the height of a giraffe in a zoo is 18 feet. In fact, it is 16 feet tall. What is Teresa’s percent error? Use proportional relationships to solve the problem. Be sure to show all your work, provide your answer as a percentage, and round your answer to the nearest tenth.(4 points)...

Answer 1

To calculate the percent error in Teresa's estimation of the giraffe's height, we can use the formula for percent error:

\[ \text{Percent Error} = \left( \frac{|\text{Estimated Value} - \text{Actual Value}|}{\text{Actual Value}} \right) \times 100 \]

1. Identify the values:

   • Estimated Value = 18 feet
   • Actual Value = 16 feet

2. Calculate the absolute error: \[ |\text{Estimated Value} - \text{Actual Value}| = |18 - 16| = 2 \text{ feet} \]

3. Calculate the percent error: \[ \text{Percent Error} = \left( \frac{2}{16} \right) \times 100 \]

4. Perform the division: \[ \frac{2}{16} = 0.125 \]

5. Multiply by 100 to convert to a percentage: \[ 0.125 \times 100 = 12.5 \]

Therefore, Teresa's percent error in estimating the height of the giraffe is 12.5%.