Discussion of Measurements Laboratory

Monique Hartemink
1 March 2017

Abstract
This essay discusses the accuracy of different volume measurement methods.

Introduction
Laboratories use many different devices to measure volume. Some devices are more
accurate than others. Typically, an engineer determines a devices accuracy by
comparing its measurements with true values. The problem is that these true values are
not always known.

Discussion
As a solution to this problem, engineers often use statistical methods to assess the
accuracy of their devices.
The first method is called the Student t-test. For this method, engineers take the
same measurement multiple times for each device. The t-test then determines whether
two measured sets are statistically identical. If the calculated t-value (Equation 1) for
two data sets is smaller than the critical t-value (in literature), the measurements are
deemed relatively accurate (see Table 1). A device that fails the t-test multiple times is
considered inaccurate.
The second method is known as the Precision Method. According to this
method, the variance of each devices measurements can be summed to determine the
variance of an entire process. Processes with higher variances are less accurate.
Processes will lower variances are more accurate. Using this method, the accuracy of
two processes can be compared.
The third method, Characteristic Value Method, uses a known value such as
density to assess accuracy. For this analysis the volumes of liquids (for which the
densities are known) are measured. The measured volumes and mass of the system is
then calculated and compared to a calculated value from literature. The closer the
measured value is to the known value, the more accurate the measurement method.

Conclusion
According to the sample t-test, the graduated cylinder and volumetric pipet provided the
most relatively accurate measurements. Additionally, the summed variance for the was
significantly high. This high variance suggests that the dilution technique (which used a
graduated pipet) should be revised. The Characteristic Method, which provided a result
for density which was very different than the known value further emphasized this. I
recommend that the dilution method use the volumetric pipet instead of the graduated
pipet. This would most likely reduce the variance of the dilution method.
 Appendix

Equation 1 & 2: Students T-test Equations

The Students T-test determines whether two measured sets are statistically identical.
The first equation (on the left) describes the calculated t-value for two data sets. The
second equation (on the right) describes the pooled standard deviation of two data sets.

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Table 1: Table of Units for Pump Variables

This table summarizes the t-test results. Highlighted values represent calculated values
that failed the test (values that were smaller than the critical t-value 4.303 for sample
size of three and alpha value of 0.95.)

Erlenmeyer Graduated Graduated Volumetric Volumetric

Flask Cylinder Pipet Pipet Flask

Flat Bottom
-8.178 -9.579 -5.345 -8.307 -7.628
Beaker

Erlenmeyer
0.000 -2.429 3.073 0.361 -0.154
Flask

Graduated
2.429 0.000 4.853 4.264 1.358
Cylinder

Graduated
-3.073 -4.853 0.000 -3.073 -2.759
Pipet

Volumetric
-0.361 -4.264 3.073 0.000 -0.420
Pipet

Volumetric
0.154 -1.358 2.759 0.420 0.000
Flask
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Table 2: Measured and Calculated Variance Values for Dilution Process

Calculated Measured
Variance Variance

2 0.132 0.003

Table 3: Measured and Calculated Density for Diluted Mixture

Calculated Measured
Density Density
(mg/mL) (mg/mL)

0.896 0.952
Density

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