Chapter U4.8, Problem 11E

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation: The percent error of a measurement needs to be determined.

Concept Introduction:The percent error of a measurement is defined as

Where |..| denotes the absolute or the positive value of the difference.

The percent error is expressed as a percentage (%).

Answer to Problem 11E

The correct answer is the second option, option (B).

Explanation of Solution

Reason for correct answer: The percent error of the measurement is given as

Conclusion

Reason for incorrect options: The first option, option (A) is incorrect. The percent error of this measurement is calculated as

The above percent error is obviously more than option (B) and hence, isn’t the smallest.

Option (C) is incorrect because, options (A) and (B) give different percent errors.

Option (D) is incorrect because the percent errors in options (A) and (B) can be easily calculated from the given information.