Which term describes the error produced when a decimal result is rounded in order to provide a meaningful answer?

Which term describes the error produced when a decimal result is rounded in order to provide a meaningful answer?

• A. Runtime error
• B. Compile-time error
• C. Overflow error
• D. Round-off error

Answer: (D)

Rounding to a finite number of digits introduces a small difference between the exact value and the value stored or shown. This difference is called a round-off error. It arises because computers use finite precision to represent numbers, and many decimals can’t be represented exactly in binary. By rounding, we make the result usable, but we trade a bit of precision for practicality, hence the round-off error. The other terms refer to different kinds of problems: a runtime error occurs during execution, a compile-time error happens when translating code, and an overflow error occurs when a value exceeds what the chosen data type can hold.

Rounding to a finite number of digits introduces a small difference between the exact value and the value stored or shown. This difference is called a round-off error. It arises because computers use finite precision to represent numbers, and many decimals can’t be represented exactly in binary. By rounding, we make the result usable, but we trade a bit of precision for practicality, hence the round-off error. The other terms refer to different kinds of problems: a runtime error occurs during execution, a compile-time error happens when translating code, and an overflow error occurs when a value exceeds what the chosen data type can hold.