replicate

[Hanka]

Hi,

could you please tell me what "replicate" means? I have the following sentence:

All replicate tests should be made with approximately 2 kg of material in a closed laboratory silo. Compaction in the silos should be constant across replicates.

Does "replicate" mean:
1) a repeated test OR
2) a test during which something is simulated? Here, for example, a silo could be simulated in a laboratory.

Thank you very much.

Hanka

[BobK]

The most common use of replicate is as a verb (similar to duplicate, but with the idea of repetition of a process); example - "I want you to replicate what you have seen, as exactly as possible." The last syllable has the diphthong /eı/.

Much less common is the noun replicate (similar to - but much less common than - the noun duplicate/. As in duplicate, the last syllable is a central e - /ə/.

In the phrase 'replicate test', replicate is used as an adjective. It's a test that involves replication (the process of producing a replicate). So your 2 is right (although there is no silo in the lab - some kind of vessel in the lab (maybe a test-tube, maybe a retort, maybe a flask [and if I'd continued chemistry after the age of 16 I'd probably be able to suggest more appropriate examples ] contains material that simulates the sort of compaction that occurs in the silos. Also, if the replication is successful, a replicate [noun] can be produced in a repeated test (your 1).

b

[Hanka]

Thanks a lot! So "replicate" as an adjective cannot mean "repeated"? Because that´s what my dictionary says. And if it can, how do you know that it is not the case in my sentence?

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Hanka

Thanks a lot! So "replicate" as an adjective cannot mean "repeated"? Because that´s what my dictionary says. And if it can, how do you know that it is not the case in my sentence?

I think the dictionary's right, but its definition is incomplete. A replicate (adj.) test does involve repetition, but it involves a particular sort of repetition - a deliberate attempt to do exactly the same thing as was done in a previous test: "OK, you've done a test and got some persuasive results; but before you publish you must do a replicate test, to make absolutely sure of your figures."

b