Enter the measured value and actual value into the calculator below to determine the relative error (%) and the absolute error.
Relative Error Formula
RE = (AV – MV) / AV *100
- Where RE is the relative error (%)
- AV is the actual value
- MV is the measured value
As is the case with the standard error, relative error is a measure of how close a measured value is to the true theoretical value. In the case of chemistry, this could be the measure mass to actual mass of a reaction.
This calculator also determines the absolute error, which is simply the absolute value of the actual value minus the measured value. This is an “absolute” value because it will always be positive.
