Title

A Laboratory Exercise To Demonstrate the Theory and Practice of Analytical Sampling

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-2010

Abstract

In analytical chemistry classes, the importance of gathering a proper sample for analysis of bulk materials is often addressed only briefly or not at all. Although a number of classroom and laboratory exercises have been developed to illustrate factors that impact error introduced by sampling, they generally do not demonstrate the main goal of applying sampling theory for chemical analysis: determining the quantity of sample necessary to achieve a desired error. In this analytical laboratory exercise, students obtain representative samples by initial calculation of the quantity of bulk material to gather to achieve a predetermined sampling error. Students also evaluate some of the properties of a sample that contribute to sampling error. These concepts are introduced in the laboratory using simple surrogate samples and are then applied to a “realistic” scenario that also incorporates gravimetric analysis techniques.

Publication Title

Journal of Chemical Education

Volume

87

Issue

3

First Page

316

Last Page

319

DOI of Published Version

10.1021/ed800087d

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