High School

A student measured the temperature of boiling water and got an experimental reading of 97.5 °C. However, the true boiling point of water is exactly 100 °C. What is the percent error?

Answer :

The percent error in the student's measurement of the boiling point of water is calculated as 2.5%, using the difference between the experimental value and the true boiling point.

The student measured a boiling water temperature of 97.5 C, but the true boiling point of water is 100 C. To calculate the percent error, we use the formula:

Percent Error = (|Experimental Value - True Value| / True Value) imes 100%

Plugging in the values we get:

Percent Error = (|97.5 C - 100 C| / 100 C) imes 100%

= (2.5 C / 100 C) imes 100%

= 2.5%

Therefore, the percent error in the student's measurement is 2.5%.