Quantifying involves expressing a magnitude or quantity through numbers.
Latin is where we can find the etymological origin of the word quantify that concerns us now. It is a term that is the result of the sum of two components of said language:
• “Quantum”, which can be translated as “how much”.
• The verb “facere”, which is synonymous with “do”.
What is quantify
Quantify is a verb that refers to the action of stating a quantity . Quantitative , therefore, consists of the expression of a magnitude through numbers .
For example: “Gulotti claims that his business trip to Africa was a success, but he still does not quantify his achievements” , “Could you quantify how much material we need to repair this room?” , “By not quantifying the losses, we still do not know how many employees we will have to lay off.”
Differences with qualitative
When a person quantifies something, they are translating or converting some phenomenon into concrete values . It is not the same to say “a representative earns a lot of money” as “a representative earns 45,000 pesos per month.” The first expression could be considered qualitative , while the second is clearly quantitative.
In everyday life, we need to quantify quantities at all times. If we go to a greengrocer, generally we do not ask for “a little potato” or “a lot of apples” , but rather we ask for “two kilograms of potato” and “five apples” , to cite one possibility. This same quantification allows the greengrocer to charge us according to the weight of the merchandise purchased.
Quantify proteins
Within the medical field, we have to establish that there is what is called quantifying proteins . It is a method for the analysis of proteins from biological samples and focuses especially on what would be the study of the so-called plasma proteins.
Specifically, we can say that among the most significant methods of this type that exist are the Biuret method, the Lowry method or the so-called turbidimetry.
The act of quantifying is common in everyday life.
The concept in construction and in the judicial field
Another area where the word in question is used is in construction. And this talks about quantifying construction materials to refer to the process in which, based on the renovations that are going to be undertaken and the space where work is going to be done, a count of all the materials that are going to be carried out is carried out. are necessary in this regard.
Likewise, in the field of the judicial sector and Law, the material and moral damages that a person has suffered when being the victim of an accident, medical negligence or assault are also quantified. Once quantified, that citizen will be compensated for the suffering, physical and mental, that he or she may have suffered as a result of the events described.
Quantify as the basis for an opinion
By quantifying, on the other hand, it is possible to base an opinion . A singer can be defined as “successful” and quantify said success by expressing that he sold 200,000 records and brought together more than half a million people on his last tour.
Similarly, a journalist can refute a soccer coach who claimed to have had a good campaign with his team, by quantifying the performance of his team (which played twenty games, won three, drew eight and lost nine).