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Percent Error Calculator

Percent Error Calculator is part of Toolspire and is ready as soon as this page loads. The sign is dropped. Measuring 11 against 10 is also a 10% error. The accepted value is the denominator and cannot be zero.

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On this page

What you can do here

Absolute gap

Over and under by the same amount share a percent. The detail says which side you were on.

Accepted is the base

Dividing by the measured value is a different statistic and is not used.

Not percentage change

Change from 9 to 10 is 11.11% because the base is 9. Error against an accepted 10 is 10%.

The sequence

How to use the Percent Error Calculator

  1. 1

    Put the lab reading in measured

    The accepted value is the reference, from a book or a true mass.

  2. 2

    Check 10%

    9 versus 10 must read 10.

  3. 3

    Use percentage change if both numbers are observations

    Neither is “accepted” in that case.

Worth knowing

  • Percent Error Calculator on Toolspire: percent error = |measured − accepted| ÷ |accepted| × 100.
  • |9 − 10| ÷ 10 = 10%.
  • 11 against 10 is also 10%. The direction is not in the headline.
  • An accepted value of 0 is rejected. The percent would be undefined.

The reference is the denominator

Percent error asks how far a measurement sits from a value treated as right, as a percent of that right value. A reading of 9 when the accepted value is 10 misses by 1, and 1/10 is 10%. A reading of 11 misses by the same 1 and the same 10%. Percentage change would divide by the starting observation instead, which is why 9 growing to 10 is not a 10% change.

FAQ

Questions about Percent Error Calculator

Where does Percent Error Calculator run?

Percent Error Calculator runs in this tab on Toolspire. What you type or drop in is not sent to us and is not stored on a server.

What is the percent error of 9 against 10?

10%.

Is 11 against 10 the same percent?

Yes. The absolute gap is still 1.

Why not divide by the measured value?

The accepted value is the reference. Dividing by the reading would reward a large wrong reading with a smaller percent.

What if the accepted value is zero?

The page rejects it. There is no percent of zero.

Keep going

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