The terms “tochnost’” and “pravil’nost’” as applied to the results of chemical analysis

Abstract

In this paper, attention is given to the inadequacy of the Russian translation of the term “accuracy” as “pravil’nost’” in publications of the IUPAC recommendations for the presentation of the results of chemical analysis and vocabularies of analytical terms. The essence of the concepts tochnost’ and pravil’nost’ in Russian measurement terminology is considered in historical context, and the evolution of the concepts accuracy in the terminological standards on analytical chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations), metrology, and statistics is traced. It is demonstrated that the one-to-one correspondence between the terms “accuracy” and “tochnost’” and “trueness” and “pravil’nost’,” respectively, which occurs in the present-day standardized terminologies, should also be followed in analytical chemistry