Each of the discrete, identifiable portions of material suitable for removal from
a population as a
sample or as a portion of a sample, and which can be individually considered, examined or
tested, or combined. In the case of sampling bulk materials (or large packages), the
units are increments, created by a sampling device. In the case of packaged materials,
the unit may vary with the level of commercial distribution. For example, an individual
piece of candy is the sampling unit at the consumer level; a package of individual
pieces is the sampling unit at the retail level; a carton of packages is the sampling
unit at the wholesale level; a pallet of cartons is the shipping unit at the distribution
centre level; and a truckload of pallets is the consignment unit at the manufacture
level. Before packaging, the bin containing the individual pieces would be the bulk
lot (or batch) for sampling.
Source:
PAC, 1990, 62, 1193
(Nomenclature for sampling in analytical chemistry (Recommendations 1990))
on page 1202
Cite as:
IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by
A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997).
XML on-line corrected version: http://goldbook.iupac.org (2006-) created by M. Nic,
J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN 0-9678550-9-8.
https://doi.org/10.1351/goldbook.
