Some Statistical Calculations Concerning The Determination of Trace Constituents

The magnitude of sampling errors involved in the determination of trace constituents in parti‐culate geochemical materials is derived in relation to the concentration of trace element, the size of the contaminant particles and the sample size. The derivation, which is based on an assumed Poisson distribution for the number of contaminant particles in the sample, is extended to cover a continuous size distribution of contaminant particles and is then applied in detail to four British Chemical Standards.