Acid test (gold) mark is tested by applying aqua fortis (nitric acid), which dissolves the mark of any item that is not gold. If the mark remains, it is tested by applying aqua regia (nitric acid and hydrochloric acid). If the mark is removed, then this test dissolves the gold, proving the item to be genuine gold. More accurate testing of the item for its fineness or purity can be done through the use of differing strengths of aqua regia and comparative testing of gold items of known fineness. The figurative meaning of the expression, where it is applied to tests of character,
Simultaneously extracted metals and Acid-volatile sulfide initially unbound to AVS (due to insufficient AVS in the sediment to "mop up" all the metal ions). The concentrations of metals in the acid solution can be measured by a number of analytical chemistry methods, including atomic emission spectrometry, atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), or mass spectrometry. These are known as "simultaneously extracted metals" because they are the metals liberated from the sediment "while the volatilization of sulfide is occurring". Metals extracted from sediment by digestion, or with a different acid than HCl are "not" simultaneously extracted metals. By correcting appropriately for dilution, the SEM concentration in the sediment can