ICP-OES Measurement Uncertainty

The measurement uncertainty is 2(SD)/1.716, where SD is the standard deviation. The 2 is referred to as the coverage factor and the 1.716 is the square root of 3 (for three measurements).

The analytical community and quality standard community support the idea that all data should be reported with a defined uncertainty. A more realistic uncertainty is to include the uncertainty of the standard used for calibration and the weight and volume measurements made for the sample preparation. The standard deviations of each of these operations must be determined. Then the overall standard deviation should be calculated by taking the square root of the sum of the squares, instead of just the measurement standard deviation.

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Serving you in chemistry,
Paul R. Gaines, Ph.D.
CEO of Inorganic Ventures

DISCLAIMER: Advice offered by the chemists at Inorganic Ventures is intended for the individual posing the question.