Application of Statistical Concepts in the Determination of
Weight Variation in Samples
Nathalie D. Dagmang
Institute of Chemistry, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, 1101 Philippines
Department of Food Sciences, College of Home Economics, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines
ABSTRACT
The two main objectives of the experiment are to (1) gain an understanding of some concepts of statistical analysis
and (2) apply statistical concepts in analytical chemistry.
The results obtained from the
Introduction
It is important that the data used in analytical
chemistry are reliable to be able to get correct results
in experiments and problem solving. To be able to
achieve this, replicate measurements are gathered.
The reliability of these measurements to be used is
then evaluated using statistical concepts.
Because it is impossible to experimentally
get the mean of all the values of the population, the
sample mean is already the most valid estimate of the
true value that can be used in the experiment. It is
one of the commonly used measures of central
tendency, or the probable location of the center of the
set of values and has a value intermediate between
the extreme members of the set. This can be
obtained by dividing the sum of replicate
measurements by the number of measurements in
the set[4]:
∑𝑛
𝑖=1 Xi
X= [2]
n
Another statistical concept used in this
experiment is the standard deviation which is the
measure of variation or the degree of
spread/dispersion of the data gathered around the
sample mean. It describes the precision of the data,
implying that the data is less precise when it is larger
and more precise when it is smaller. The following is
the formula of the standard deviation (s)[4]:
∑𝑛
𝑖−1(𝑋𝑖 −𝑋)
2
𝑠= √ [3]
𝑛−1
Because the experiment was done by nine
groups in the class, all of which used the same
sources of indeterminate error (i.e., the same type of
measurement but different samples) the standard
deviations of the nine samples are pooled to get a
more accurate standard deviation of the analysis:
∑𝑛𝑖=1
1 𝑛2
(𝑥𝑖 − 𝑥̅1 )2 + ∑𝑗=1
𝑛3
(𝑥𝑗 − 𝑥̅2 )2 + ∑𝑘=1(𝑥𝑘 − 𝑥̅3 )2
𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑒𝑑 = √
𝑛1 + 𝑛2 + 𝑛3 + ⋯ 𝑛𝑠
where n1 is the number of measurements in set 1, n2
is the number of measurements in set 2, and so forth.
The ns is the number of data sets used.
Unlike the standard deviation which only
measures the variability of the true value, the
confidence limits identify the values of the ends of the
confidence interval, a range where the true value lies
at a certain level of probability (confidence level). It
can also measure the precision of the data gathered.
The wider the range, the less precise the data is. The
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confidence limits can be calculated from the following
formula [4]:
𝐶𝐿 = 𝑋 ±
𝑡𝑠
[5]
√𝑛
where t is the tabulated value for (n-1) for a certain
level of probability.
The purpose of this experiment is to be able
to apply the said statistical concepts in analytical
chemistry and to learn how to get more reliable
measurements for future experiments.
It is calculated that the sample mean (for
group 8’s data only) is 3.6747, the standard deviation
is 0.1 and the confidence limits are 3.6747 ± 0.08.
The pooled standard deviation (where all data
gathered from all nine groups were considered) is s=
0.1 while the mean is 3.6233.
Experimental Detail
Ten samples of 25-centavo coins are used in
the experiment. Using the weighing by difference
technique, the samples are weighed in the analytical
balance. This is done by placing the ten coins with its
container (watch glass) inside the balance then
pressing the on/tare button. The coins are then
removed from the equipment one by one, recording
the absolute value of the numbers shown by the
balance then pressing the on/tare button after each
removal. To avoid the transfer of moisture from the
hands to the coins, which could also contribute to the
weight measured, forceps are used to remove each
sample.
Results and Discussion
It is possible that there are members of the
data set that can be considered invalid like the
outliers, the values that differ significantly from the
other results.[3] So before continuing with the analysis,
these suspect values, usually the highest and lowest
values, should be tested using the Q-test which will
say if these should be rejected or accepted for use in
future statistical calculations. There are tabulated
critical values for different confidence levels which the
calculated value from the Q-test should not exceed. In
the experiment, the suspect values (as seen from
table 3) did not exceed the Qtab so these values were
still used in the following calculations and the sample
mean.
In this experiment, it is calculated that the
mean of Data Set 1 is 3.6765 and its standard
deviation is 0.1. The mean of Data Set 2, on the other
hand, is 1.6747 and its standard deviation is 0.1. In
addition, because it is necessary that the most
accurate measurement of precision is calculated, the
group also determined the mean and pooled standard
deviation of all the data gathered by all nine groups.
The mean of these data is 3.6233 while the pooled
standard deviation is 0.1. This means that if the
observations follow the normal (or Gaussian) law of
errors, 68% of the members of the population may
vary between (𝑋̅ ± s), 95% may vary between (𝑋̅±
value
2s), and 99% may vary between (𝑋̅± 3s).[1] This is
suggested by the graph of Normal distribution or the
Gaussian curve (Figure 1) which is characterized by
the mean (the maximum of the graph and about
which the graph is always symmetrical) and the
standard deviation (determines the amount of
dispersion away from the mean). A steeper curve
describes a more dispersed and less precise data set
while a flatter curve shows a data set with values
closer to each other which is more precise.
frequency
values
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 Figure 1. The Gaussian Curve[4]
In this case, Data Set 1, with less replicate
measurements (six measurements), has a wider
confidence interval of 3.5765 to 3.7765 thus less
precise than Data Set 2 with a confidence interval of
3.5947 to 3.7547.
The actual weight of a 25-centavo coin
manufactured in 2004 is 3.6 grams. Hence, the result
from Data Set 2 is closer to the true value and it is
proven that the set with the larger n is more precise
and also more accurate.
Conclusions
The experiment had successfully achieved
its objectives: to understand better certain statistical
concepts and apply these in analytical chemistry. The
concepts, namely the mean, standard deviation and
confidence limits, are used to determine the
approximation of the true value, the variability of the
data gathered and the range where the true value
likely lies.
Data set 2, which has a larger number of
replicate measurements, has more precise results so
its results are more reliable than that of Data set 1.
Therefore, it is better to assume that the true value of
the weight of a 25 centavo coin is approximately
3.6747. The variability of the data gathered, as
measured from the standard deviation, is 0.1 while
there is a 95% chance that the true value lies
between 3.5947 and 3.7547. It can be concluded from
the experiment that the larger the n (number of
replicate measurements), the more precise and
reliable the results are. Hence, it is suggested that
there be more replicate measurements to increase
the precision and reliability of the results.
In addition, the results of the different groups
slightly differed from each other; some had higher
means while some had lower ones. Thus, it is best to
use the pooled standard deviation for it is more
precise because it considers the results of all nine
groups. Calculations show that the pooled standard
deviation is 0.1 while the mean is 3.6198.The
difference in results may be due to a number of
factors, one of these is the different levels of moisture
of the 25 centavo coins which can contribute an
amount of weight. Another is the amount of heat
coming from the people surrounding the analytical
balance that can slightly alter the weight measured
from the equipment. Other factors like air and dirt that
have gone with the coin as it is placed inside the
balance may also have affected the results. For this
reason, it is recommended that the coins be cleaned
and handled properly before weighing. This could
also be because the coins have different dates of
manufacture. 25-centavo coins manufactured from
1995 to 2004 are made of pure brass and weigh 3.8 g
while those made from 2004 until present are only
brass-plated steel and only weighs 3.6 g. The sample
may be a mix of 3.8-gram and 3.6-gram 25-centavo
coins and this may greatly affect the variability of the
results. To avoid this, it is highly recommended that
the coins be of the same manufacturing date.
References
[1] Dean, R.B. and Dixon, W.J. Simplified Statistics
for Small Numbers of Observations. University of
Oregon, Eugene, Ore.
[2] Ramachandran and Tsokos., Mathematical
Statistics with Applications, 2009, 26-33
[3] Skoog, et al., Fundamentals of Analytical
Chemistry, Eighth edition, 2004, 91-147
[4] The Britannica Guide to Statistics and Probability,
First Edition, 305-310, 318.
[5] http://stats4students.com/measures-of-spread-
3.php. Retrieved November 19, 2010
[6] http://sportsci.org/resource/stats/generalize.html.
Retrieved November 19, 2010
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[7] http://philmoney.blogspot.com/2006/12/25-
centavo-coin-new-bsp-series.html November 21,
2010