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What if the percent error is negative?

Updated: 4/28/2022
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16y ago

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9f you are using the equation %error =[(oberved value - true value)/true value]x100 a negative percent indicates the observed value is less than the true value by the calculated percent.

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Q: What if the percent error is negative?
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Related questions

Can percent error be negative?

Sometimes you will take the absolute value of the percent error because your estimated number could be less than the theoretical, meaning the calculation is negative. But an absolute value is always positive. A percent error can be left as a negative though, and this would be perfectly acceptable (or even preferred) depending on what you're doing.Answer:In the sciences, a negative percent error indicates a low result. If you have a 0% error, then your observed (lab) result was exactly the same as the theoretical result. A 5% error could mean that your observed result was a little high. A negative percent error is possible; if your observed results were lower than the expected, then you would have a negative percent error. A -5% error could mean that your results were a little low. Having a negative percent error isn't worse than positive percent error -- it could mean the same thing. If you were to have a choice in having a 20% error and a -5% error, the negative percent error is more accurate.


Percent error formula?

Divide the calculated or estimated error by the magnitude of the measurement. Take the absolute value of the result, that is, if it is negative, convert to positive. This would make the percent error = | error / measurement |.


Why are percent error values never negative?

all error value are suppose to be prefixed by a +/- symbol to show that they can be either + or -. As everybody understands this they just forget about it.


What does it mean if you get a negative number when you calculate for percent error?

Depending on whether you subtract actual value from expected value or other way around, a positive or negative percent error, will tell you on which side of the expected value that your actual value is. For example, suppose your expected value is 24, and your actual value is 24.3 then if you do the following calculation to figure percent error:[percent error] = (actual value - expected value)/(actual value) - 1 --> then convert to percent.So you have (24.3 - 24)/24 -1 = .0125 --> 1.25%, which tells me the actual is higher than the expected. If instead, you subtracted the actual from the expected, then you would get a negative 1.25%, but your actual is still greater than the expected. My preference is to subtract the expected from the actual. That way a positive error tells you the actual is greater than expected, and a negative percent error tells you that the actual is less than the expected.


What is relative errors?

Percent error.


What is the difference between low percent error and high percent error?

The difference between low percent error and high percent error is one is low and the other is high


When an error of 1 percent is made in the length of a square error is?

The error in its area is then 2 percent....


What is 2 percent error OF 5 percent error?

1/100


What is the percent of error in evaluating the molecular mass of a compound if the experimental value was 105.2 amu and the known value was 107.5 amu?

The formula for percent error is |experimental value-accepted value|/accepted value. The lines stand for absolute value. They are there to prevent a negative percent error, seeing as that is not possible, and they have the same effect on the order of operations as a pair of parenthesis. ITS 2.1%


What relative error?

percent error


Are percent deviation and percent error the same?

no


Is percent deviation the same as percent error?

No.