Percentage Error Calculator
Calculate the percentage error between an experimental (measured) value and the true (accepted) value. Enter the values below.
What Is Percentage Error?
Percentage error quantifies how inaccurate a measurement is compared to the true value, expressed as a percentage. It shows the size of the error relative to the accepted value.
Percentage Error Formula
The formula used to calculate percentage error is:
Percentage Error = (|Experimental Value − True Value| / True Value) × 100%
- True Value: The accepted or correct value
- Experimental Value: The measured or observed value
- |…|: Absolute value, to ignore negative sign
Example
Example: The true length of an object is 50 cm. The measured length is 47 cm.
The percentage error is:
(|47 − 50| / 50) × 100% = (3 / 50) × 100% = 6%
This means there is a 6% error in the measurement.