Approximations and Errors
Approximation of numbers by truncation and rounding-off,
types of errors
Numerical methods are techniques by which mathematical problems are formulated so that they can be
solved with arithmetic operations. Although there are many kinds of numerical methods, they have one
common characteristic: they invariably involve large numbers of tedious arithmetic calculations. It is
little wonder that with the development of fast, efficient digital computers, the role of numerical
methods in engineering problem solving has increased dramatically in recent years.
A computer has a finite word length and so only a fixed number of digits are stored and used during
computation. This would mean that even in storing an exact decimal number in its converted form in
the computer memory, an error is introduced.
The quantity, (𝑇𝑟𝑢𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒 − 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑣𝑎𝑙𝑢𝑒) is called the error.
(A) Reason of errors
The error in numerical computation can enter in two different ways:
(1) Inherent error: The inherent error is that quantity which is already present in the statement of
the problem before its solution.
The inherent error arises either due to the simplified assumptions in the mathematical formulation of
the problem or due to the physical measurements of the parameters of the problem.
(2) Round-off error: Error that arises due to the finite precision of an infinite decimal
representation during arithmetic computation is known as round-off error.
Round-off error is occurred in two ways:
(i) Chopping (Truncation)
(ii) Rounding
In chopping, after n-significant digits we simply discard the ( 𝑛 + 1)-th and later digits.
In rounding, to round-off a number to n-significant digits, we discard all the digits to the right of the n-
th digit if the ( 𝑛 + 1)-th digit is less than 5. If the ( 𝑛 + 1)-th digit is more than 5, we increase the n-
th digit by 1. If the ( 𝑛 + 1)-th digit is equal to 5, then we increase the n-th digit by 1 if it is odd and
leave the n-th digit unchanged if it is even.
Example. Find round-off error in rounding and chopping correct up to 4-significant figures for the
numbers (a) 1.7320508 (b) 0.014159.
Solution. (a) Let 𝑥𝑇 = 1.7320508
The approximate value after chopping is 𝑥𝐴 = 1.732
Therefore, round-off error in chopping is = 𝑥𝑇 − 𝑥𝐴 = 1.7320508 − 1.732 = 0.0000508
Again, the approximate value after rounding is 𝑥𝐴 = 1.732
Therefore, round-off error in rounding is = 𝑥𝑇 − 𝑥𝐴 = 1.7320508 − 1.732 = 0.0000508
(b) Let 𝑥𝑇 = 0.014159.
The approximate value after chopping is 𝑥𝐴 = 0.01415
Therefore, round-off error in chopping is = 𝑥𝑇 − 𝑥𝐴 = 0.014159 − 0.01415 = 0.000009
Again, the approximate value after rounding is 𝑥𝐴 = 0.01416
Therefore, round-off error in rounding is = 𝑥𝑇 − 𝑥𝐴 = 0.014159 − 0.01416 =− 0.000001
(B) Measurement of errors
Whenever approximating a number, we mainly measure errors in three different ways
(1) Absolute error: It is the absolute value of the difference between true value and approximate
value. Let us denote true value of a decimal number by 𝑥𝑇 and approximate value of a decimal
number by 𝑥𝐴 . Then the absolute error is defined as 𝐸𝐴 = |𝑥𝑇 − 𝑥𝐴 |.
(2) Relative error: The relative error of a number is known as the absolute error divided by its
|𝑥𝑇 −𝑥𝐴 |
true value, i.e., 𝐸𝑅 = |𝑥𝑇 |
.
(3) Percentage error: The percentage error is defined as the relative error multiplied by 100, i.e,
|𝑥𝑇 −𝑥𝐴 |
𝐸𝑃 = |𝑥𝑇 |
× 100.
Example. Find the absolute error, relative error and percentage error in approximating the number
10.42857 correct up to 3 decimal places.
Solution. Let xT = 10.42857. Therefore, xA = 10.429
So, absolute error is EA = |xT − xA | = | − 0.00043| = 0.00043
|xT−xA | 0.00043
Relative error is ER = |xT|
=
10.42857
= 0.0000412
|xT−xA |
Percentage error is EP = |xT|
× 100 = 0.00412
