ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY 1 LABORATORY

PROBLEM SET – BASIC STATISTICS

INSTRUCTIONS:

 Write your answers on a short bond paper, with 1” margin on all sides
 Write your name (surname first) at the upper left-hand corner.
 For calculations, show your solutions and BOX your final answer.
 WRITE LEGIBLY.

A. PROPAGATION OF ERROR
1. Calculate the uncertainty in the answers to the following:
(a) (16.25 ± 0.06) − 9.43 ± 0.03),
(b) (46.1 ± 0.4) + (935 ± 1).
2. Calculate the absolute uncertainty in the answers of the following:
(a) (2.78 ± 0.04) (0.00506 ± 0.00006)
(b) (50.23 ± 0.07) (27.86 ± 0.05)/ (0.1167 ± 0.0003).
3. Calculate the absolute uncertainty in the answer of the following:
a. [(25.0 ± 0.1) (0.0215 ± 0.0003) − (1.02 ± .01) (0.112 ± 0.001)] (17.0 ± 0.2)/ (5.87 ± 0.01).

B. CONFIDENCE INTERVAL
1. You work in an analytical testing lab and have been asked by your supervisor to purchase new pH meters
to replace your old supply. You have identified four potential suppliers and now need to evaluate the
performance of each pH meter. You obtained a solution with a known pH of 5.5. You performed 10 replicate
measurements of the pH of that known solution using each of the four different pH meters and obtained
the data shown below.

Calculate the confidence intervals of each of the data sets at a 95% confidence level. Based on the
calculated results and with all other factors being equal (cost, ease of use, etc), which brand would you
suggest the lab purchase? Explain your answer.

C. SIGNIFICANCE TESTING

1. A standard reference material is certified to contain 94.6 ppm of organic pesticide in soil. Your analysis
gives values of 99.3, 92.5, 96.2, and 93.6 ppm. Do your results significantly differ from the expected result
at a 95% confidence level? Show your work to explain your answer.
a. Which significance test to use?
b. Number of tails
c. Statement for the null hypothesis
 d. Statement for the alternative hypothesis
e. Critical value
f. Calculated value for the test statistic
g. Answer to the question (sentence/paragraph form)

2. A study is being performed to see if there is a correlation between the concentration of chromium in the
blood and a suspected disease. Blood samples from a series of volunteers with a history of the disease and
other indicators of susceptibility are analyzed and compared with the results from the analysis of samples
from healthy control subjects. From the following results, determine whether the differences between the
two groups can be ascribed to chance or whether they are real. Control group (ppb Cr): 15, 23, 12, 18, 9,
28, 11, 10; Disease group: 25, 20, 35, 32, 15, 40, 16, 10, 22, 18.
a. Which significance test to use?
b. Number of tails
c. Statement for the null hypothesis
d. Statement for the alternative hypothesis
e. Critical value
f. Calculated value for the test statistic
g. Answer to the question (sentence/paragraph form)

3. This is a comparison of peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) before and after a walk on a cold winter’s day
for a random sample of 9 asthmatics. As shown in the following table, data in one column indicate the
PEFRs before the walk and the other of the PEFRs after the walk. Each row represents the same subject.
Is the PEFR significantly different before and after a walk at a 95% confidence level?

a. Which significance test to use?

b. Number of tails
c. Statement for the null hypothesis
d. Statement for the alternative hypothesis
e. Critical value
f. Calculated value for the test statistic
g. Answer to the question (sentence/paragraph form)
4.

a. Which significance test to use?

b. Number of tails
c. Statement for the null hypothesis
d. Statement for the alternative hypothesis
e. Critical value
f. Calculated value for the test statistic
g. Answer to the question (sentence/paragraph form)

5. The following replicate molarities were obtained when standardizing a solution: 0.1067, 0.1071, 0.1066,
and 0.1050. Can one of the results be discarded as due to accidental error at the 95% confidence level?
(Use Q-test)

6. The precision of a method is being established, and the following data are obtained: 22.23, 22.18, 22.25,
22.09, and 22.17%. Can one of the results be discarded as due to accidental error at the 95% confidence
level? (Use Grubb’s test)