Title: calibration function
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - calibration function
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.C00778
Status: current

Definition
The functional (not statistical) relationship for the chemical measurement process, relating the expected value of the observed (gross) signal or response variable \(E(y)\) to the analyte amount \(x\). The corresponding graphical display for a single analyte is referred to as the calibration curve. When extended to additional variables or analytes which occur in multicomponent analysis, the 'curve' becomes a calibration surface or hypersurface.

Related Terms
- chemical measurement process: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C01030
- expected value: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/E02272
- variable: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/V06600

Source
- PAC, 1995, 67, 1699. 'Nomenclature in evaluation of analytical methods including detection and quantification capabilities (IUPAC Recommendations 1995)' on page 1703 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199567101699)

Related Reference
- PAC, 1990, 62, 2167. 'Glossary of atmospheric chemistry terms (Recommendations 1990)' on page 2177 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199062112167)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C00778/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C00778/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/C00778/xml

Citation: Citation: 'calibration function' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.C00778
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Accessed: 2026-06-28T06:52:00+00:00