Question

The temperature of a chemistry laboratory during summer was recorded to be 29.32 degreeC. A student used a thermometer to measure the temperature four times and recorded the temperatures shown below. Calculate the percentage error.





28.62 degreeC

27.09 degreeC

29.01 degreeC

29.00 degreeC




29.32%


4.74%


1.39%


27.93%

Answer 1

To calculate the percentage error, we need to find the difference between each measured temperature and the actual temperature, then divide that difference by the actual temperature and multiply by 100 to get a percentage.

The actual temperature is 29.32 degreeC.

For the first measurement:

Difference = |28.62 - 29.32| = 0.7
Percentage error = (0.7/29.32) x 100 = 2.39%

For the second measurement:

Difference = |27.09 - 29.32| = 2.23
Percentage error = (2.23/29.32) x 100 = 7.61%

For the third measurement:

Difference = |29.01 - 29.32| = 0.31
Percentage error = (0.31/29.32) x 100 = 1.06%

For the fourth measurement:

Difference = |29.00 - 29.32| = 0.32
Percentage error = (0.32/29.32) x 100 = 1.09%

To get the overall percentage error, we can take the average of these percentage errors:

(2.39% + 7.61% + 1.06% + 1.09%) / 4 = 3.29%

Therefore, the percentage error is 3.29%.