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) in a sentance

Answer 1

To determine Teresa's percent error in her estimate of the giraffe's height, we can use the formula for percent error:

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

In this case, the estimated height is 18 feet and the actual height is 16 feet.

1. Calculate the absolute error:

\[ |\text{Estimated Value} - \text{Actual Value}| = |18 - 16| = 2 \text{ feet} \]

2. Calculate the percent error:

\[ \text{Percent Error} = \left( \frac{2}{16} \right) \times 100 = 0.125 \times 100 = 12.5% \]

Therefore, Teresa’s percent error is 12.5%.