Question

A student calculates experimentally the value of density of iron as 7.4 gcm⁻³. If the actual density of iron is 7.6 gcm⁻³, calculate the percentage error in the experiment.

Answer 1

Experimental value of density of iron = ρ₁ = 7.4 gcm⁻³

Actual value of density of iron = ρ₂ = 7.6 gcm⁻³

Absolute error = ρ₂ − ρ₁ = 7.6 − 7.4 = 0.2 gcm3

Percentage error = `"Absolute error"/"Actual value"xx100`

= `0.2/7.6xx100`

= `100/38`

= 2.63%