Definition:Relative Error/Also defined as
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Definition
Let $x_0$ be an approximation to a (true) value $x$.
The relative error of $x_0$ in $x$ can also be defined as:
- $\delta x \approx \dfrac {\Delta x} {x_0}$
where:
- $\Delta x$ denotes the absolute error of $x_0$
- $\approx$ indicates that the value is but approximate.
This can be particularly useful when the true value $x$ can only be speculated.
Sources
- 1964: Milton Abramowitz and Irene A. Stegun: Handbook of Mathematical Functions ... (previous) ... (next): $3$: Elementary Analytic Methods: $3.5$ Absolute and Relative Errors: $3.5.2$
- 2014: Christopher Clapham and James Nicholson: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Mathematics (5th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): relative error