ENV E 363: Environmental Engineering Laboratory

Homework Assignment 1
Assigned: 2/4/16 Due: 2/11/16

Problem 1 (20 points)

List and describe three analyses that provide quality control.

List and describe three analyses that provide quality assurance.

Problem 2 (10 points)

Calculate the mean and report the median of this dataset:

5.08, 3, 2.109, 0.025, 0.639
Use significant figures.

Problem 3 (30 points)

a) Hand-calculate the mean, standard deviation, variance, and standard error

of the mean for concentrations of nitrate in each groundwater sample shown
below (A through C).
-Use significant figures.

b) Use excel to calculate the mean, standard deviation, variance, and standard
error of the mean. Did your results match the hand calculations?

Sample numbers Sample A Sample B Sample C

1 10.1 7.33 7.2
2 14.2 3.0 10.1
3 13.3 6.06 16.8
4 15.4 3.1 5.00
5 12.5 3.224 10.00
6 11.6 6.89

c) Are the means of Samples A and B statistically different?

What about the means of B and C?
Problem 4 (30 points)

Table 1. Absorbance of phosphate standard solutions.

Phosphate standard Absorbance
concentration (mg/L) (a.u.)
0 3.30
0.5 10.9
1.0 34.2
1.5 45.0

a) Plot the calibration curve in Excel.

b) Use Excel to determine:
o the slope of the curve
o the intercept of the curve
o the coefficient of determination (R2 value).
c) If an unknown has an absorbance of 12.5, use the equation of the calibration
curve to determine its phosphate concentration.
d) If the 1.0 mg/L standard is run as an unknown and reads an absorbance value of
29.0, what concentration would this correspond to? What then is the relative
error in the measurement?

Problem 5 (10 points)

If 10 blanks (of phosphate free water) have a concentration range of 0 to 0.45
mg/L with a mean of 0.28 mg/L and a standard deviation of 0.20 mg/L, what is
the instrument detection limit?