IXL | Percent error: word problems

Dwayne volunteered to clean the garage. He thought it would only take an hour, but it actually took him two and a half hours. What is the percent error for his estimate?

If necessary, round your answer to the nearest tenth of a percent.

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Learn with an example

question

Jamie agreed to run the children's story time at a local library. He expected 10 children would come the first day, but 16 showed up instead. What is the percent error for Jamie's prediction?

If necessary, round your answer to the nearest tenth of a percent.

key idea

The amount of error in a measurement or estimate is the difference between the correct amount and the incorrect amount. It is always written using a positive number.

The percent error expresses the amount of error as a percentage of the correct amount. Here is a formula for percent error:

percent error

amount of error

correct amount

solution

To find the percent error, start by listing the key information from the problem.

Jamie expected 10 children would come to story time.

16 children actually came.

First, find the amount of error. It is the difference between 16 and 10, which is 6.

Now, use the formula to find the percent error.

percent error

amount of error

correct amount

0.375

You can rewrite 0.375 as

37.5%

So, the percent error for Jamie's prediction is

37.5%

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