Relative error

Examples

The utility of relative error becomes particularly evident when it is employed to compare the quality of approximations for numbers that possess widely differing magnitudes; for example, approximating the number 1,000 with an absolute error of 3 results in a relative error of 0.003 (or 0.3%). This is, within the context of most scientific or engineering applications, considered a significantly less accurate approximation than approximating the much larger number 1,000,000 with an identical absolute error of 3. In the latter case, the relative error is a mere 0.000003 (or 0.0003%). In the first case, the relative error is 0.003, whereas in the second, more favorable scenario, it is a substantially smaller value of only 0.000003. This comparison clearly highlights how relative error provides a more meaningful and contextually appropriate assessment of precision, especially when dealing with values across different orders of magnitude.