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. (make it like a 7th grader wrote it)

3 answers

To find Teresa's percent error in estimating the height of the giraffe, we can follow these steps:

  1. Find the difference between the estimated height and the actual height.

    • Teresa's estimate = 18 feet
    • Actual height = 16 feet
    • Difference = Estimated height - Actual height
    • Difference = 18 feet - 16 feet = 2 feet
  2. Next, we need to calculate the percent error. The formula for percent error is:

    \[ \text{Percent Error} = \left(\frac{\text{Difference}}{\text{Actual Height}} \right) \times 100 \]

  3. Plug in the values we have:

    • Difference = 2 feet
    • Actual Height = 16 feet

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

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

  5. Multiply by 100 to get the percentage: \[ 0.125 \times 100 = 12.5 \]

  6. So, Teresa's percent error is approximately 12.5%.

Final Answer: Teresa's percent error is 12.5%.

make it shorter

To find Teresa’s percent error:

  1. Calculate the difference:

    • Estimated height = 18 feet
    • Actual height = 16 feet
    • Difference = 18 - 16 = 2 feet
  2. Use the percent error formula: \[ \text{Percent Error} = \left(\frac{\text{Difference}}{\text{Actual Height}} \right) \times 100 \] \[ \text{Percent Error} = \left(\frac{2}{16} \right) \times 100 = 0.125 \times 100 = 12.5% \]

Final Answer: Teresa’s percent error is 12.5%.