Item talk:Q113792

Analytical precision of one-sixth order semiquantitative spectrographic analysis

Over 2,700 separate analyses were made on 22 different geologic samples selected to cover wide concentration ranges for the 30 elements studied. The precision for low, medium, and high concentrations of each element determined is represented by superimposed frequency diagrams and displays the frequency of reported values occurring within one-sixth order reporting intervals about the mean.Results are derived from mixed analyst and instrument conditions with no controls enforced other than randomization of samples. The precision of the six-step (one-sixth order) semiquantitative spectrographic analysis utilized by the Denver-based mobile laboratories exceeds that which is necessary for exploration geochemistry. Disallowing results obtained near the detection levels, the repeatability of the method, in general, is shown to be within on adjoining reporting interval on each side of the mean, 83 percent of the time, and within two adjoining reporting intervals on each side of the mean 96 percent of the time.