1. What is Percent Discrepancy?

Percent discrepancy is a measure of the difference between two values relative to their average. It quantifies the percentage difference between two measurements or calculated values, providing insight into their agreement or variation.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percent discrepancy formula:

Where:

• \( A \) — First value
• \( B \) — Second value
• \( |A - B| \) — Absolute difference between A and B
• \( \frac{A + B}{2} \) — Average of A and B

Explanation: The formula calculates the absolute difference between two values as a percentage of their average, providing a normalized measure of variation.

3. Importance of Percent Discrepancy Calculation

Details: Percent discrepancy is widely used in scientific research, quality control, experimental validation, and data analysis to assess the agreement between measurements, experimental results, or theoretical predictions.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both values A and B. The calculator will compute the percent discrepancy. Values can be positive, negative, or zero (with appropriate handling for division by zero cases).

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What does a high percent discrepancy indicate?
A: A high percent discrepancy suggests significant variation or disagreement between the two values, which may indicate measurement errors, experimental inconsistencies, or fundamental differences.

Q2: How is percent discrepancy different from percent error?
A: Percent error compares a measured value to a known or accepted value, while percent discrepancy compares two measured or calculated values without designating one as "correct."

Q3: What is considered an acceptable percent discrepancy?
A: Acceptable levels vary by field and application. In some contexts, <5% may be acceptable, while others may tolerate higher discrepancies depending on measurement precision requirements.

Q4: How should zero values be handled?
A: When both values are zero, the percent discrepancy is undefined. When one value is zero and the other is not, the calculation may yield very high percentages that should be interpreted with caution.

Q5: Can percent discrepancy be negative?
A: No, percent discrepancy is always positive or zero because it uses the absolute value of the difference between the two values.