Title: linearity of a measuring system
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - linearity of a measuring system
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.08023
Status: current

Definition
Ability of a measuring system to provide measured quantity values that are directly proportional to the quantity value of the measurand.

Notes
1) The linearity of a measuring system is assessed during procedure validation.
2) The set of measured quantity values for which linearity of a measuring system applies is usually termed "linear interval" or "linear range".
3) Linearity of a measuring system should not be confused with linearity of calibration.

Related Terms
- linearity of calibration: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08024
- procedure validation: https://goldbook.iupac.org//terms/view/08097

Source
- PAC, 2021, 93, 997. 'Metrological and quality concepts in analytical chemistry (IUPAC Recommendations 2021)' on page 1008 (https://doi.org/10.1515/pac-2019-0819)

Other Outputs
- html: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08023/html
- json: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08023/json
- xml: https://goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/08023/xml

Citation: Citation: 'linearity of a measuring system' 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.08023
License: The IUPAC Gold Book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike CC BY-SA 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) for individual terms.
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Disclaimer: The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is continuously reviewing and, where needed, updating terms in the Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the IUPAC Gold Book). Users of these terms are encouraged to include the version of a term with its use and to check regularly for updates to term definitions that you are using.
Accessed: 2026-08-04T05:43:57+00:00