Question

1. check for reasonableness two trials are conducted for an experiment. in trial a, the measured value is 240, while the actual value is 200. in trial b, the measured value is 195, while the actual value is 240. an assistant says that trial b has the greater percent error. is the assistant correct? explain.

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate percent error for Trial A

Percent error formula: $\frac{\vert\text{Measured}-\text{Actual}\vert}{\text{Actual}}\times100\%$.
For Trial A: $\frac{\vert240 - 200\vert}{200}\times100\%=\frac{40}{200}\times100\% = 20\%$.

Step2: Calculate percent error for Trial B

For Trial B: $\frac{\vert195 - 240\vert}{240}\times100\%=\frac{45}{240}\times100\%=\frac{4500}{240}\% = 18.75\%$.

Answer:

The assistant is not correct. Trial A has a percent error of $20\%$ and Trial B has a percent error of $18.75\%$. So Trial A has the greater percent error.