TUTORIAL 2

EVALUATION OF EXPERIMENTAL DATA

1) Give the answer to the following equations in the correct significant figure.
i. 9.5 + 0.978
ii. 17.7 - 0.32 + 5.14
iii. 3.65 × 5.849 ÷ 1.0234
iv. (16.5 + 0.8321) ÷ 2.98
v. 6.02 × 1023 + 2.53 × 1024
vi. 9.51 × 106 ÷ 3.02 × 102

2) Differentiate between
i. Accuracy and precision
ii. Systematic and random error

3) Name two sources of determinate error and give one example each of the
sources.

4) A series of six concentration (ppm) determinations gives the following results:

15.4 17.3 16.2 14.8 15.9 15.6

Calculate the mean, median, range, deviation, standard deviation and % relative
standard deviation.

5) The following data set was obtained in an analysis to determine the weight
content of ascorbic acid from vitamin C tablets.

No. of experiment 1 2 3 4 5
Weight obtained (mg) 3.274 3.258 3.265 3.350 3.483

i. Determine the mean, median, range and standard deviation.

ii. By using the Q-test, predict whether the outlier in data should be rejected
or accepted at a 99% confidence level.
iii. Calculate the confidence level and report the statistically probable mean
value at the 99% confidence level.
6) A set of volumetric calibration measurements give observed values of (mL):

4.995 5.004 4.998 4.999 4.997

Calculate the 90% and 95% confidence intervals for the volume.

7) The homogeneity of the chloride level in a water sample from a lake was tested
by an analyst. Below are the concentration in parts per million (ppm) of Cl:

27.32, 27.22, 27.21, 27.24, 27.20

i. Determine the mean and median.
ii. Calculate the confidence limit at 90%.
iii. Identify a possible outlier and use the Q-test to determine whether it can
be retained or rejected at 90% confidence level

8) Two different analytical methods are compared for determining Ca. The following
are two sets of data.

Set 1 Set 2
155.779 155.784
155.787 155.787
155.813 155.765
155.781 155.793

i. Determine the mean and the standard deviation in Set 1.

ii. Calculate the 95% confidence limit for data in Set 1.
iii. Identify a possible outlier in Set 2. Use the Q-test to determine whether it
can be retained or rejected at 95% confidence level.

9) The following mass in gram was recorded from an experiment to determine the
average mass of copper foil as catalyst.

Sample 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Mass of catalyst (g) 6.079 6.094 6.108 6.064 6.111 6.173 6.198

i. Determine the mean and median.

ii. Using Q-test, determine whether the outlier should be rejected or retained
at 95% confidence level.
iii. Calculate the standard deviation of the data set.
10) The following results were obtained in an analysis of iron content in an ore
sample. The results reported as % Fe for each analysis, were as follow:

Samples no. 1 2 3 4 5 6
% Fe 20.10 20.50 18.65 19.25 19.40 19.99

i. Calculate the mean and median from the set of the data above
ii. If the true value of %Fe is 19.65 %, calculate the value for absolute error
and percentage relative error for sample no. 3
iii. Using Q-test, justify whether an of the data must be rejected at 95 %
confidence level
iv. Calculate the standard deviation and relative standard deviation of the
data.