Hassan predicted that he would sell 178 postcards. He actually sold 142 postcards. What are the values of a and b in the table below?

Percent Error

Item:POSTCARDS

Approximate value:178

Exact value:142

Error:A

Absolute error:B

Ratio

Percent error

answer choices
(A )a = negative 36; b = negative 36
(B)a = negative 36; b = 36
(C)a = 36; b = negative 36
(D)a = 36; b = 36