Triplicates VS sample size of n = 3?

Question

In the context of scientific experiments, what is the difference between doing a triplicate and having a sample size of n = 3? And how to differentiate between the two?

Thanks.

Answer 1

A triplicate is when you have 3 samples of the same size and perform the same experiment on all 3 of them. It is when you perform the same experiment 3 times on 3 different sample. A sample size is the size of each one of your samples. For example you can have a sample of n= 5 and run an experiment on them it is different from running the same experiment on 3 samples (each with n= 5) 3 times.

Duplicate means doing the same thing twice; triplicate means doing the same thing 3 times.

Answer 2

Not knowing exactly what you are referring to, I'm taking a wild guess.

The difference between running an assay three times and measuring three times (such as plating) is that the latter determines the variability of the measurement technique on the same sample.