APPLICATION OF STATISTICAL CONCEPTS IN THE

DETERMINATION OF WEIGHT VARIATION IN SAMPLES

C.D., DELA CRUZ1
1
INSTITUTE OF CHEMISTRY, COLLEGE OF SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES, DILIMAN, QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES
DATE PERFORMED: AUGUST 16, 2016
INSTRUCTORS NAME: GUPIT, C.

1. Differentiate and give the

significance of the Q-Test and
Grubbs Test

the mean is
measure
of
4
distribution .

The Q-test is one of the most

commonly used statistical method to
determine whether the suspected data
result should be rejected or retained1
as well as the function of the Grubbs
Test. The difference between them is
the way how theyre calculated and
obtained. Q-test is used to determine
if an outlier is due to a determinate
error2. While the Grubbs test is to
detect an outlier in a usually normal
distribution with a single variate data 3.
Obviously, their significance in
chemical analysis have been used to
distinguish whether an observation
should be rejected or retained. This
will be helpful for the data to be more
reliable and to avoid computational
errors.
2. Give the significance of the
mean and standard deviation.
Standard
deviation
is
considered as an estimate of the
probable error of a set of data
measurements. Also, it measures how
closely the data are clustered about
the mean and measures the width of
the distribution. On the other hand,

most widely used

central
value
of

3. Give the significance of the

confidence interval.
Confidence
intervals
are
referred to as the ranges of numerical
values
within
which
that
the
experimental results are reasonably
certain. These are based on critical
values obtained from the skewed
distributions and provides a measure
of the confidence or degree of
certainty5. They will be absolutely
significant and useful in terms of
providing an estimation of the
magnitude from an experimental data
to interpret chemical findings and
results.
4. How do statistics calculated
from data set 1 differ from those
obtained from data set 2?
To explain further about the
data treatment in Tables 1 and 2, the
10 coin samples is divided into 2 data
sets with 5 coin samples each. Clearly,
different mean, standard deviation
and other statistical tests were
obtained due to weight variation with
each sample. The statistics calculated

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between the data sets will be different

mathematically. Also, it could result to
different
interpretations
when
gathered and analyzed.

Data
Set 1
Coin 1
Coin 2
Coin 3
Coin 4
Coin 5
Data
Set 2
Coin 6
Coin 7
Coin 8
Coin 9
Coin
10

Mea
n

5.336
1

Standa
rd
Deviati
on
0.04168
6

5.408
4

0.06990
1

5. Why is weighing by difference

applied as the mass measurement
technique?
Weighing
by
difference
is
applied and used in measuring the
mass of the coins to gather a
significantly accurate and precise
numerical
values
of
the
data
measurement.

Table 1: Weight of each coin,

mean and standard deviation
Weight
of
coin(g)

0.7782
4

6. Why must forceps be used in

handling coins?
Forceps are used in handling
coins to avoid importing unnecessary
particles and dirt that may affect the
reading mass.

5.3530
5.3023
5.3246
5.3003
5.4002

REFERENCES

5.4433
5.3553
5.3743
5.3540
5.5151

[1] Skoog, D.A.; West, D.M.; Holler,

F.J.; Crouch, S.R. Fundamentals of
Analytical Chemistry, 8th ed.;
Brooks/Cole: USA, 2004; pp 167-168.

Table 2: Calculated data

treatment

[2] Christian, G.D. Analytical

Chemistry, 5th ed.; John Wiley & Sons,
Inc.: University of Washington, 1994;
pp 25,43.

Data
Set
1

Data
Set
2

Grubbs
Test

RSD
(Sr)

RR
(Wr)

CL

7.81
20

Rang
e
(W)
0.099
900

G1:
max
1.5381
G2:
min
0.8583
3
G1:
max
1.5264
G2:
min

1.87
22

5.34
0.052

12.9
24

0.161
10

2.97
87

5.41
0.087

[3] Engineering Statistics Handbook:

Grubbs Test for Outliers.
http://www.itl.nist.gov/div898/handboo
k/eda/section3/eda35h1.htm
(accessed: August 20,2016).
[4] Harris, D.C. Quantitative
Chemical Analysis, 8th ed.; W.H.
Freeman and Company: California,
2010; pp 68-70

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[5] Gardiner, W.P. Statistical Analysis

Methods for Chemists (A softwarebased Approach): UK, 1997; pp 41-42.

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