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.(4 points) PUT IN PARAGRAPH.

Answer 1

To calculate Teresa's percent error in her estimate of the giraffe's height, we first need to determine the absolute error, which is the difference between the estimated value and the actual value. Teresa estimated the giraffe to be 18 feet tall, while the actual height is 16 feet tall. We find the absolute error by subtracting the actual height from the estimated height:

\[ \text{Absolute Error} = \text{Estimated Height} - \text{Actual Height} = 18 , \text{feet} - 16 , \text{feet} = 2 , \text{feet}. \]

Next, we need to express the percent error, which is calculated by taking the absolute error, dividing it by the actual height, and then multiplying the result by 100 to convert it into a percentage:

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

Substituting the values we have:

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

Thus, Teresa's percent error in her estimation of the giraffe's height is 12.5%.