Question

an engineer estimated the weight of a steel beam to be 150 pounds. the actual weight of the beam was 140 pounds. find the absolute error and the percent error of the engineers estimate. if necessary, round your answers to the nearest tenth. absolute error = pounds percent error = %

Explanation:

Step1: Calculate absolute error

The formula for absolute error is $| \text{Estimated value}-\text{Actual value}|$. Here, the estimated value is 150 pounds and the actual value is 140 pounds. So, $|150 - 140|=10$ pounds.

Step2: Calculate percent error

The formula for percent error is $\frac{\text{Absolute error}}{\text{Actual value}}\times100\%$. We know the absolute error is 10 pounds and the actual value is 140 pounds. So, $\frac{10}{140}\times100\%=\frac{1000}{140}\% \approx 7.1\%$

Answer:

absolute error = 10 pounds
percent error = 7.1%