Summary: SOME DEFINITIONS
Let xT denote the true value of some number, usually
unknown in practice; and let xA denote an approxi-
mation of xT .
The error in xA is
error(xA) = xT - xA
The relative error in xA is
rel(xA) =
error(xA)
xT
=
xT - xA
xT
Example: xT = e, xA = 19
7 . Then
error(xA) = e -
19
7
.
= .003996

Source: Atkinson, Kendall - Departments of Computer Science & Mathematics, University of Iowa

Collections: Computer Technologies and Information Sciences