The discharge of phosphate in detergents to the environment has led to imbalances in the life cycle of freshwater lakes. A chemist uses a spectrometric method to measure total phosphate and obtains the following data for known standards: (a) Draw a curve of absorbance vs. phosphate concentration.
A technique called spectrophotometry uses light intensity measurements as a beam of light travels through a sample solution to determine how much a chemical compound absorbs light.
Every chemical either absorbs or transmits light across a specific spectrum of wavelengths, according to the fundamental principle.
There are two main techniques used among the various forms of spectrophotometry:
ultraviolet-visible range spectrophotometry, which examines the reflectance of certain spectra,
and absorption spectrophotometry, which examines the absorption of radiation and particular spectra of light.
Applications of spectrophotometry are useful for determining how well gases, liquids, and solids transmit, reflect, and absorb light.
