Percent Error Calculator – Calculate Accuracy | Homtide

Homtide's Percent Error Calculator helps you calculate the percent error in your measurements. It compares the difference between your observed value and the true value, showing how accurate your measurement is as a percentage.

Percent Error Calculator

Calculate the accuracy of your measurement by determining the percent error.

What is Percent Error?

Percent error is a measure used to quantify the difference between an observed value and a true or accepted value. It is often used to assess the accuracy of measurements or experimental results.

The Percent Error Formula:

The formula for percent error is as follows:

Percent Error = ( |Observed Value - True Value| / True Value ) × 100

Where:

  • Observed Value: The value you measure or observe.
  • True Value: The correct or accepted value, often based on standards.
  • Absolute Difference: The absolute difference ensures the error is non-negative.

Example 1: Measuring the Length of a Table for a Furniture Project

Let's say you want to measure the length of your dining table to order a new tablecloth. After measuring it with a tape measure, you get an observed value of 180 cm, but the true value (as per the specifications) is 200 cm.

Using the percent error formula:

Percent Error = ( |180 cm - 200 cm| / 200 cm ) × 100
Percent Error = ( 20 / 200 ) × 100 = 10%

So, the percent error in your measurement is 10%. This means that your observed value was off by 10% from the true value.

Example 2: Cooking – Measuring Flour for a Recipe

Suppose you are baking and need to measure 200 grams of flour. You use a kitchen scale and measure 190 grams. The true value should be 200 grams.

Using the percent error formula:

Percent Error = ( |190 g - 200 g| / 200 g ) × 100
Percent Error = ( 10 / 200 ) × 100 = 5%

Here, the percent error is 5%. This means that the amount of flour you measured was off by 5% from the true amount.