What is a sample

The Commission on Analytical Nomenclature of the Analytical Chemistry Division of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry has pointed out that confusion and ambiguity can arise around the use of the term sample and recommends that its use is confined to its statistical concept. When being used to describe the material under analysis, the term should be qualified by the use of laboratory sample or test sample , for example. 

Once received into the laboratory the laboratory samples or test samples will be recorded and then be subjected to analytical operations, beginning with the measuring out of a test portion and proceeding through various operations to the final measurement and reporting of results/findings. 

The problems associated with sampling in many areas of chemical testing have been addressed and methods have been validated and published (see ref. 3 for more details). Where specific methods are not available, the analytical chemist should rely upon experience or adapt methods from similar applications. When in doubt, the material of interest and any samples taken from it 

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What is a sample What does it mean to obtain a sample ... 

What is a sampled signal Sketch one and indicate how it is related to its continuous counterpart. 

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