Quality control is one of the three cyclical quality assurance activities that help keep a system under statistical control. Typical quality control activities include creating quality control charts, conducting proficiency testing, and documenting and archiving results.
Quality control helps track data, visualize trends, and identify variations, making it easier to detect deviations that may affect the accuracy of an analysis. One way to do this is by generating a quality control chart, which...

Quality assurance is the overarching term used to describe the activities employed to ensure the proper performance of a system. These activities can be classified into three categories: quality control, quality assessment, and internal corrective measures. Typically, these activities work cyclically: quality control is performed before and during the analysis, while quality assessment occurs during and after the investigation. Internal corrective measures are implemented based on the findings...

In concrete preparation, the quality of water is paramount as it affects the strength and durability of the concrete. Potable water is usually preferred; however, it must not have excessive sodium or potassium to prevent compromising the concrete's integrity. Water quality is typically evaluated based on impurities such as dissolved solids, chlorides, and sulfates, and its pH value is ideally between 6 and 8. Even slightly acidic natural water may be acceptable unless it contains harmful...

In any system of units, the units for some physical quantities must be specified through a measurement process. These measurements are the base quantities of the system, and their units are the base units of the system. The algebraic combinations of the base values can then be used to express all other physical quantities. Each of these physical quantities is then referred to as a derived quantity, with each unit being referred to as a derived unit.
The International Organization for...

Quartiles are numbers that separate the data into quarters. Quartiles may or may not be part of the data. To find the quartiles, first, find the median or second quartile. The first quartile, Q1, is the middle value of the lower half of the data, and the third quartile, Q3, is the middle value, or median, of the upper half of the data. To get the idea, consider the same data set:
1; 1; 2; 2; 4; 6; 6.8; 7.2; 8; 8.3; 9; 10; 10; 11.5
The median or second quartile is seven. The lower half of the...

Qualitative analysis is the process of identifying elements, ions, or compounds in an unknown sample. It is the first and most fundamental type of analysis based on the hierarchy of analytical goals. This hierarchy is significant as it provides a structured approach to scientific research, with qualitative analysis serving as the initial step, providing essential information before moving on to quantitative or other forms of analysis.
There are two main approaches to qualitative analysis:...