O Introduct|on to Stat|st|cs |n Chem|stry

1

O AuLhors 8 u Lamp u L McCurdy v M ulLz and ! M McCormlck*
O LasL updaLe May 10 2010
O
O Introduct|on
O pllgures ofLen begulle me parLlcularly when l have Lhe arranglng of Lhem myself ln whlch
case Lhe remark aLLrlbuLed Lo ulsraell would ofLen apply wlLh [usLlce and force '1here are Lhree
klnds of lles lles damned lles and sLaLlsLlcs'" Mark 1waln$p
O
O 1waln's dyspepLlc vlew of flgures and sLaLlsLlcs noLwlLhsLandlng Lhe predlcLlve power of sclence
derlves from quanLlfylng (placlng numbers on) physlcal properLles and Lhen wrlLlng
maLhemaLlcal equaLlons Lo descrlbe Lhe unlverse's behavlor (laws and Lheorles)
2
ln Lhls way
we can predlcL Lhe ouLcomes of experlmenLs LhaL we have noL yeL done and Lhereby LesL our
models of Lhe unlverse Cnce we have acLually done Lhe experlmenLs we wlll also need a
maLhemaLlcal way of assesslng Lhe rellablllLy of our resulLs lL ls ln Lhe laLLer appllcaLlon LhaL
sclenLlsLs rely on sLaLlsLlcs 1he followlng ls lnLended Lo provlde you wlLh a baslc worklng
undersLandlng of sLaLlsLlcal analysls ln chemlsLry lor a more compleLe LreaLmenL of sLaLlsLlcs
you wlll wanL Lo Lake S1A1S 190$290
3
and CPLM 222
43

O
O 1here are Lhree Lerms LhaL are used by sclenLlsLs ln relaLlon Lo Lhelr daLa's rellablllLy 1hey
are accuracy preclslon and error Accuracy ls how close a measured value ls Lo Lhe Lrue or
accepLed value whlle preclslon ls how carefully a slngle measuremenL was made or how
reproduclble measuremenLs ln a serles are 1he Lerms accuracy and preclslon
are noL synonymous buL Lhey are relaLed as we wlll see Lrror ls anyLhlng LhaL lessens a
measuremenL's accuracy or lLs preclslon
O
O 1o beglnnlng sclence sLudenLs Lhe sclenLlflc meanlng of error" ls very confuslng because lL
does noL exacLly maLch Lhe common usage ln everyday usage error" means a mlsLake buL ln
sclence an error" ls anyLhlng LhaL conLrlbuLes Lo a measured value belng dlfferenL Lhan Lhe
Lrue" value 1he Lerm error" ln sclence ls synonymous wlLh mlsLake" when we speak of gross
errors (also known as llleglLlmaLe errors) Cross errors are easy Lo deal wlLh once Lhey are
found Some gross errors are correcLable (a mlsLake ln a calculaLlon for example) whlle some
are noL (uslng Lhe wrong amounL of a reacLanL ln a chemlcal reacLlon) When meL wlLh
uncorrecLable gross errors lL ls usually besL Lo dlscard LhaL resulL and sLarL agaln
O
O 1he oLher Lypes of errors" LhaL are encounLered ln sclence mlghL be beLLer referred Lo
as uncerLalnLles 1hey are noL necessarlly mlsLakes buL Lhey place llmlLs on our ablllLy Lo be
perfecLly quanLlLaLlve ln our measuremenLs because Lhey resulL from Lhe exLenslon of a
measuremenL Lool Lo lLs maxlmum llmlLs 1hese uncerLalnLles fall lnLo Lwo groups sysLemaLlc
errors (or deLermlnaLe errors) and random errors (or lndeLermlnaLe errors)
O
O A sysLemaLlc error ls a nonrandom blas ln Lhe daLa and lLs greaLesL lmpacL ls on a
measuremenL's accuracy A sysLemaLlc error can be recognlzed from mulLlple measuremenLs of
Lhe same quanLlLy lf Lhe Lrue value ls known lor example lf you made Lhree measuremenLs of
copper's denslLy and goL values of 934 933 and 936 g$cm
3
you would noL be able Lo
deLermlne wheLher a sysLemaLlc error was presenL unless you knew LhaL Lhe accepLed value of
copper's denslLy ls 896 g$cm
3
?ou mlghL Lhen suspecL a sysLemaLlc error because all of Lhe
measured values are conslsLenLly Loo hlgh (alLhough Lhe closeness of Lhe daLa Lo each oLher
lmplles some level of confldence) CfLen ln sclence one needs Lo assess Lhe accuracy of a
measuremenL wlLhouL prlor knowledge of Lhe Lrue value ln Lhls case Lhe same experlmenL ls
performed wlLh samples where Lhe quanLlLy Lo be measured ls known 1hese sLandards
or knowns can reveal sysLemaLlc errors ln a procedure before measuremenLs are made on
unknowns and glve Lhe experlmenLer confldence LhaL Lhey are geLLlng accuraLe resulLs
O
O 1he lasL Lype of uncerLalnLy ls random error As Lhe name suggesLs Lhese uncerLalnLles arlse
from random evenLs LhaL are noL necessarlly under Lhe conLrol of Lhe experlmenLallsL 8andom
errors can be LhoughL of as background nolse 1he nolse resLrlcLs our ablllLy Lo make an exacL
measuremenL by llmlLlng Lhe preclslon of Lhe measuremenL 8ecause lndeLermlnaLe errors are
random Lhey may be LreaLed sLaLlsLlcally
O
O ssess|ng ccuracy
O Accuracy can be expressed as a percenL error deflned by Lqn 1 lf Lhe Lrue value ls known noLe
LhaL Lhe percenL error has a slgn assoclaLed wlLh lL ('+' lf Lhe measured value ls larger Lhan Lhe
Lrue value and '' lf lL ls less Lhan Lhe Lrue value) uslng Lhe copper denslLy daLa


(1)
O from above and Lqn 1 we can calculaLe a percenL error for each daLa polnL of approxlmaLely
+63 1hls suggesLs Lhe presence of a sysLemaLlc error because lf Lhere were no sysLemaLlc
error we would expecL Lhe percenL error for each member of Lhe daLa seL Lo be very small and
LhaL Lhere would be boLh poslLlve and negaLlve values When Lhe Lrue value ls noL known no
concluslon abouL accuracy may be made uslng a percenL error ln Lhls case sLandards musL be
run or oLher sLaLlsLlcal meLhods based on Lhe preclslon can be used Powever Lhe laLLer can be
used only Lo assess Lhe accuracy of a group of measuremenLs
O
O ln Lhe absence of sysLemaLlc errors Lhe average of a seL of measuremenLs (Lqn 2) should
approxlmaLe Lhe Lrue value as Lhe number of measuremenLs n becomes very large (l e Lhere
are many lndlvldual daLa polnLs x
l
) 8uL lf a sysLemaLlc error ls presenL Lhen maklng more


(2)
O measuremenLs wlll noL make Lhe average approach Lhe Lrue value (as ls Lhe case for Lhe copper
daLa we have been dlscusslng) So Lo make Lhe mosL accuraLe measuremenLs (smallesL percenL
error) all sysLemaLlc errors musL be ellmlnaLed noLe LhaL Lhe percenL error for a seL of
measuremenLs can be made uslng Lhe average 1he average value of copper's denslLy uslng Lhe
daLa LhaL we have been dlscusslng ls 933 g$cm
3
whlch has +66 error
O ssess|ng rec|s|on
O 1he range ls Lhe slmplesL and crudesL measure of Lhe preclslon for a seL or measuremenLs 1he
range ls slmply Lhe hlghesL value mlnus Lhe lowesL value and can be used Lo geL a rough ldea of
Lhe spread ln Lhe daLa buL noL much more SomeLlmes you wlll see a range reporLed ln Lhe
form (range$2) whlch should noL be confused wlLh Lhe confldence llmlLs dlscussed below
O
O A beLLer measuremenL of preclslon for a daLa seL ls Lhe sLandard devlaLlon (o) whlch may be
calculaLed uslng Lqn 3 for daLa seLs LhaL have more Lhan abouL 20 polnLs


(3)
O
O ln Lqn 3 ls Lhe Lrue mean (whaL Lhe average becomes when n ls large) Slnce lL ls rare ln
chemlsLry Lo have more Lhan Lhree Lo flve repllcaLe experlmenLs Lhe esLlmaLed sLandard
devlaLlon S ls used lnsLead (Lqn 4) ln elLher case a smaller S or o lndlcaLes hlgher preclslon

(4)
O
O noLe Lhe dependence of boLh S and o on Lhe number of daLa polnLs lf Lhe dlfference Lerms are
all abouL Lhe same Lhen Lhe preclslon should lncrease (S and o decrease) as n lncreases So lL ls
sLaLlsLlcally advanLageous Lo make more measuremenLs alLhough Lhls musL be balanced wlLh
pracLlcal conslderaLlons no one wanLs Lo do a Lenday experlmenL 30 Llmes [usL Lo geL beLLer
sLaLlsLlcs!
O
O 1he sLandard devlaLlon ls relaLed Lo anoLher esLlmaLe of preclslon known as Lhe confldence
llmlL or Lhe confldence lnLerval 1he confldence lnLerval ls a range of values based on Lhe mean
and Lhe sLandard devlaLlon of Lhe daLa seL where Lhere ls a known probablllLy of flndlng Lhe
Lrue" value A confldence llmlL ls wrlLLen as A aL Lhe glven confldence level lor example a
volume expressed as 216 003 cm
3
aL Lhe 93 confldence level means LhaL Lhere ls aL leasL a
93 probablllLy of flndlng Lhe Lrue" value ln Lhe range 211 cm
3
Lo 221 cm
3
(ln oLher words
wlLhln 003 cm
3
of Lhe average 216 cm
3
) lL does noL mean LhaL only 93 percenL of Lhe Llme
we are confldenL of Lhe resulL! 1o some exLenL preclslon ls separaLe from accuracy Powever lf
enough preclse measuremenLs are made ln Lhe absence of sysLemaLlc error we have lncreased
confldence LhaL our average ls a good approxlmaLlon Lo Lhe Lrue value even Lhough we do noL
know Lhe Lrue value So a confldence llmlL also expresses a level of cerLalnLy LhaL Lhe Lrue value
lles wlLhln A of Lhe average ln Lhe absence of sysLemaLlc error
O
O 1o deLermlne a confldence llmlL Lhe uncerLalnLy A musL flrsL be calculaLed from Lhe esLlmaLed
sLandard devlaLlon uslng Lqn 3 1he value of L ln Lqn 3 may be calculaLed ln Lxcel uslng
Lhe 1lnv funcLlon or may be Laken from a Lable such as 1able 1 whlch glves Lhe value of L for
varlous degrees of freedom (usually Lhe number of daLa polnLs mlnus one le n 1) aL Lhe 93
confldence level noLe LhaL as Lhe preclslon of a seL of measuremenLs lncreases A wlll decrease
aL a seL confldence level Plgher confldence levels also reflecL hlgher preclslon ln Lhe daLa seL
O


(3)
O
uegrees of
lreedom
1 2 3 4 3 6 7 8 9 10 13 ~
L
127 430 318 278 237 243 236 231 226 223 213 196
O @ab|e 1 values of L aL Lhe 93 confldence level for varlous degrees of freedom
O
O rec|s|on and S|gn|f|cant I|gures
O ln lecLure and on exams and qulzzes when we wrlLe a number we assume LhaL Lhe preclslon ls
1 ln Lhe lasL number wrlLLen (for example Lhe number 31778 would be assumed Lo have a
preclslon of 0001) We do Lhls for slmpllclLy 8ecause when we make Lhls assumpLlon we only
need Lo concern ourselves wlLh slgnlflcanL flgures and we can lgnore sLaLlsLlcs and
Lhe propagaLlon of error ln real llfe we are noL so lucky and we musL worry abouL slgnlflcanL
flgures sLaLlsLlcs and Lhe propagaLlon of error Powever slgnlflcanL flgures are always our flrsL
sLep ln analyzlng our daLa
O
O 1he uncerLalnLy ln a number Lells us dlrecLly how many slgnlflcanL flgures our resulL has 1hls ls
because Lhe uncerLalnLy Lells us ln whaL place Lhe flrsL uncerLaln dlglL ls (or you could say lL ls
Lhe flrsL dlglL where cerLalnLy ends) lor example lf you had a resulL 136780033 k!$mole aL
Lhe 93 confldence level Lhen you could Lell from Lhe uncerLalnLy LhaL Lhe flrsL dlglL LhaL has
any uncerLalnLy ln lL ls Lhe LenLhs place We know Lhe 1 Lhe 3 and Lhe 6 (and are confldenL LhaL
we know Lhem) buL Lhe 7 we have some doubL abouL We only really know Lhls dlglL Lo 3 aL
93 confldence and Lhe hundredLhs place ls noL known wlLh any cerLalnLy Pow we show Lhls ls
dlscussed below
O
O eport|ng esu|ts
O 1here are Lhree ways ln whlch Lhe sLaLlsLlcal lnformaLlon LhaL accompanles a measuremenL
(average sLandard devlaLlon and confldence llmlL) can be sLaLed lf for example flve repllcaLe
measuremenLs of a solld's denslLy were made and Lhe average was 1013 g$cm
3
wlLh an
esLlmaLed sLandard devlaLlon of 0006 Lhen Lhe resulLs of Lhls experlmenL could be reporLed ln
any of Lhe followlng ways
O 1he average denslLy ls 1013 g$cm
3
wlLh an esLlmaLed sLandard devlaLlon of 0006 g$cm
3

O
O 1he denslLy ls 1013(6) g$cm
3

O
O 1he denslLy ls 1013 0007 g$cm
3
aL Lhe 93 confldence llmlL
O
O ln Lhls example Lhe denslLy has four slgnlflcanL flgures and Lhe uncerLalnLy ls ln Lhe lasL declmal
place SomeLlmes Lhe uncerLalnLy and Lhe number of slgnlflcanL flgures ln Lhe measuremenL do
noL maLch 1hls means LhaL each lndlvldual measuremenL was measured more exacLly Lhan Lhe
reproduclblllLy wlLhln Lhe group lf Lhe sLandard devlaLlon ln Lhe denslLy experlmenL had lnsLead
been 0010 g$cm
3
Lhen Lhe resulLs mlghL be reporLed as
O 1he average denslLy ls 102 g$cm
3
wlLh an esLlmaLed sLandard devlaLlon of 001
O
O 1he denslLy ls 102(1) g$cm
3

O
O 1he denslLy ls 102 001 g$cm
3
aL Lhe 93 confldence llmlL
O
O 1he resulLs have been rounded off because Lhe number of slgnlflcanL flgures does noL reflecL Lhe
preclslon of Lhe daLa seL ln oLher words Lhe sLaLlsLlcal analysls shows us LhaL Lhe flrsL dlglL
where uncerLalnLy beglns ls Lhe 1$100
Lhs
place even Lhough each measuremenL was made Lo Lhe
1$1000
Lhs
place 1he lasL slgnlflcanL flgure ls ln Lhe 1$100
Lhs
place so Lhls ls where roundlng
occurs SomeLlmes Lhe average and Lhe uncerLalnLles are quoLed Lo Lhe maxlmum number of
slgnlflcanL flgures (l e 1013(10) g$cm
3
) ln Lhls way Lhe preclslon of each lndlvldual
measuremenL and Lhe preclslon of Lhe seL of measuremenLs are shown
O
O Ds|ng Stat|st|cs to Ident|fy n|dden Gross Lrror
O AnoLher way ln whlch sLaLlsLlcs can be used ls ln Lhe evaluaLlon of suspecL daLa by Lhe CLesL
1he CLesL ls used Lo ldenLlfy ouLlylng (bad") daLa polnLs ln a daLa seL for whlch Lhere ls no
obvlous gross error 1he CLesL lnvolves applylng sLaLlsLlcs Lo examlne Lhe overall scaLLer of Lhe
daLa 1hls ls accompllshed by comparlng Lhe gap beLween Lhe suspecL polnL (ouLller) and lLs
nearesL nelghbor wlLh Lhe range as shown ln Lqn 6 1he calculaLed C ls Lhen compared Lo Lhe
crlLlcal C values C
c
aL glven confldence level llke Lhose ln 1able 2 lf Lhe measured C ls greaLer
Lhan C
c
Lhen LhaL daLa polnL can be excluded on Lhe basls of Lhe CLesL

(6)
O
n 3 4 3 6 7 8 9 10
C
c
094 076 064 036 031 047 044 041
O @ab|e 2 CrlLlcal C (C
c
) values aL Lhe 90 confldence llmlL for a small number of daLa polnLs n
O
O lor large daLa seLs (n 10) a daLa polnL LhaL lles more Lhan 26 Llmes S (or o) from Lhe average
may be excluded AlLhough for medlumslzed daLa seLs (beLween 11 and 13 daLa polnLs) Lhere
ls an alLernaLlve LreaLmenL LhaL ls usually sufflclenL ln Lhese cases we can use C
c
for n 10 buL
ln dolng so a hlgher crlLerlon ls placed on Lhe daLa for excluslon of a polnL Lhan ls requlred by
sLaLlsLlcs So an ouLlylng polnL LhaL could have been dlscarded ls reLalned and Lhe preclslon ls
quoLed as belng less Lhan lL acLually ls 8uL agaln lL ls beLLer Lo err on Lhe slde of cauLlon ln our
daLa LreaLmenL
O
O ln any case only one daLa polnL per daLa seL may be excluded on Lhe basls of Lhe CLesL More
Lhan one polnL may be LesLed buL only one may be dlscarded lor example you have measured
Lhe denslLy of copper as 943 893 897 896 and 893 g$cm
3
can any of Lhese polnLs be
excluded?
O
O llrsL we musL remember LhaL Lhe CLesL ls only valld aL Lhe exLremes noL ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe
daLa seL So before performlng a CLesL lL ls besL Lo sorL Lhe daLa (as already been done wlLh
Lhe daLa LhaL we are conslderlng) now look aL Lhe exLremes and see wheLher elLher of Lhe
polnLs look odd ln Lhls case Lhe low value (893 g$cm
3
) ls noL LhaL much dlfferenL Lhan Lhe
values ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe seL whlle Lhe hlgh value (943 g$cm
3
) looks Lo be suspecL
O
O Pavlng declded LhaL Lhe 943 g$cm
3
value ls suspecL we can calculaLe C uslng Lqn 6 (suspecL
value 943 closesL value 897 hlghesL value 943 and lowesL value 893) 1hls glves C
092 for Lhls polnL Slnce Lhls exceeds C
c
for flve daLa polnLs (for n 3 C
c
064 ln 1able 2) Lhls
polnL may be excluded on Lhe basls of Lhe CLesL 1he CLesL may noL be repeaLed on Lhe
remalnlng daLa Lo exclude more polnLs
O
O Cne lasL lmporLanL Lhlng abouL Lhe CLesL ls LhaL lL cannoL be performed on ldenLlcal daLa
polnLs lor example lf our daLa seL had been 943 943 893 897 896 and 893 g$cm
3
we
would noL have been able Lo use Lhe CLesL on Lhe 943 g$cm
3
values
O
O ropagat|on of Dncerta|nty
O So now we have an average and an assoclaLed uncerLalnLy aL glven confldence level for a daLa
seL WhaL happens lf we use Lhls resulL ln a calculaLlon? 1he slmple answer ls LhaL Lhe
uncerLalnLy carrles Lhrough Lhe calculaLlon and affecLs Lhe uncerLalnLy of Lhe flnal answer 1hls
carrylng over of uncerLalnLy ls called propagaLlon of error or propagaLlon of uncerLalnLy and lL
represenLs Lhe mlnlmum uncerLalnLy ln Lhe calculaLed value due enLlrely Lo Lhe uncerLalnLy ln
Lhe orlglnal measuremenL(s) 1he equaLlons LhaL descrlbe how Lhe uncerLalnLy ls propagaLed
depend on Lhe calculaLlon belng done and can be derlved uslng calculus
6
Cllck here lf you
would llke Lo learn more abouL how Lqn 7 was derlved 1he followlng example demonsLraLes
how a propagaLlon of uncerLalnLy analysls ls done
O
O 1he dlmenslons of a regular recLangular wood block are 1312 cm 314 cm and 101 cm all
measured Lo Lhe nearesL 001 cm WhaL ls Lhe volume and Lhe confldence llmlLs on Lhe volume
based on Lhls slngle measuremenL? 1he equaLlon for Lhe uncerLalnLy ln Lhe volume ls glven ln
Lqn 7 where Av Ax Ay and Az are Lhe uncerLalnLles ln Lhe volume and
Lhe x y and z dlmenslons respecLlvely uo noL be confused by Lhe noLaLlon! 1he A represenLs
Lhe uncerLalnLy noL a change ln Lhese parameLers Slnce each measuremenL was made Lo Lhe
nearesL 001 cm Ax Ay Az 001 cm llrsL we calculaLe Lhe volume belng careful wlLh our
slgnlflcanL flgures (noLe Lhe exLra lnslgnlflcanL" flgures from Lhe calculaLor ouLpuL shown as
subscrlpLs carrled along ln Lhe calculaLlon for roundlng purposes)


(7)
O
O SubsLlLuLlng Lhe known values of v x y z Ax Ay and Az lnLo Lqn 7 glves












O
O So Lhe volume would be reporLed as 480 03 cm
3
for Lhe slngle measuremenL and Lhls
represenLs a mlnlmum uncerLalnLy ln Lhe volume based on Lhe uncerLalnLles ln Lhe block's
dlmenslons noLe LhaL Lhe propagaLed uncerLalnLy usually has only one slgnlflcanL flgure
O
O 1o see how Lhe propagaLed uncerLalnLy dlffers from an uncerLalnLy for a populaLlon (daLa seL)
lmaglne LhaL we dld Lhls measuremenL Lhree Llmes and goL volumes of 481 478 and 483 cm
3

Lach lndlvldual measuremenL has an uncerLalnLy of 03 cm
3
from Lhe propagaLlon of
uncerLalnLy analysls buL Lhe uncerLalnLy for Lhe seL of measuremenLs ls 07 cm
3
1hls was
calculaLed wlLh S 03 cm
3
(deLermlned uslng Lqn 4) and Lhe value of L Laken from 1able 1
(for n 1 2) by subsLlLuLlon lnLo Lqn 3 1hus Lhe volume would be reporLed as 481 07
cm
3
aL Lhe 93 confldence llmlL noLlce LhaL Lhe uncerLalnLy ln Lhe populaLlon ls noL Lhe same as
Lhe uncerLalnLy ln each lndlvldual measuremenL 1hey are noL requlred Lo be Lhe same nor are
Lhey ofLen Lhe same ln Lhls example Lhe propagaLed uncerLalnLy ls less Lhan LhaL for a serles of
volume measuremenLs lndlcaLlng anoLher source of uncerLalnLy besldes LhaL arlslng from Lhe
uncerLalnLy ln Lhe block's dlmenslons 1hls ls ofLen Lhe case and ln your concluslons Lo an
exerclse or experlmenL you should Lry Lo ldenLlfy lLs source and dlscuss lLs lmpacL on your resulL
O
O egress|on na|ys|s
O Cnce we have daLa from an experlmenL Lhe challenge ls Lo deLermlne Lhe maLhemaLlcal
expresslon LhaL relaLes one measured quanLlLy Lo anoLher 1he problems LhaL confronL us when
we aLLempL Lo maLhemaLlcally descrlbe our daLa are 1) how Lo esLabllsh Lhe maLhemaLlcal
formula LhaL connecLs Lhe measured quanLlLles and 2) how Lo deLermlne Lhe oLher parameLers
ln Lhe equaLlon 1he process by whlch a maLhemaLlcal formula ls exLracLed from a daLa seL ls
called flLLlng or regresslng Lhe daLa
O
O A llnear relaLlonshlp ls Lhe slmplesL and mosL useful maLhemaLlcal formula relaLlng Lwo
measured quanLlLles x (Lhe lndependenL varlable) and y(Lhe dependenL varlable) 1hls means
LhaL Lhe equaLlon Lakes Lhe form y m-x + b where m ls Lhe slope of Lhe llne and b ls Lhe
lnLercepL lL ls posslble Lo relaLe Lwo quanLlLles wlLh oLher equaLlons buL unless Lhere ls a good
LheoreLlcal basls for uslng anoLher funcLlon a llne ls always your besL lnlLlal cholce lor a llnear
relaLlonshlp Lhe values of m and b musL be found from Lhe daLa (x and y values) whlch ls done
Lhrough a llnear leasL squares regresslon (or flL) 1he maLhemaLlcs behlnd Lhe flLLlng algorlLhm ls
noL relevanL aL Lhls Llme buL lL ls lmporLanL Lo know LhaL Lhe leasLsquares procedure assumes
LhaL Lhe uncerLalnLy ln Lhe x values ls less Lhan Lhe uncerLalnLy ln Lhe y values 1hls means LhaL
lf we wanL Lo geL a meanlngful slope and lnLercepL from our flL we musL make Lhe measured
quanLlLy wlLh Lhe smallesL uncerLalnLy be Lhe lndependenL varlable
O
O Some of plLfalls LhaL you may encounLer when performlng a regresslon analysls (and why lL ls
always a good ldea Lo graph your daLa) have been dlscussed by Anscombe
7

O
O eferences
O 1 Cllck here Lo obLaln Lhls flle ln ul formaL (llnk noL yeL acLlve)
O
O 2 aul 8 L Llder L A MlnlaLure Culde for SLudenLs and laculLy Lo SclenLlflc 1hlnklng
loundaLlon for SclenLlflc 1hlnklng ulllon 8each CA 2003
O
O 3 uevore ! eck 8 SLaLlsLlcs Lhe LxploraLlon and Analysls of uaLa uuxbury ress 8elmonL
CA 1993
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O 4 Skoog u A WesL u M Poller l ! Crouch S 8 AnalyLlcal ChemlsLry an lnLroducLlon
ParcourL College ubllshers new ?ork 2000
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O 3 Parrls u C CuanLlLaLlve Chemlcal Analysls W P lreeman new ?ork 2003
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O 6 Andraos ! ! Chem Lduc 1996 73 130134 Cllck here Lo vlew Lhls arLlcle on Lhe !ournal of
Chemlcal LducaLlon web page (1ruman addresses only)
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O 7 Anscombe l ! 1he Amerlcan SLaLlsLlclan 1973 27 1721 Cllck here Lo vlew Lhls arLlcle on
!S1C8 1he Wlklpedla enLry for Anscombes quarLeL summarlzes Lhe resulLs nlcely
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