Guzman, Catherine Bernard Y.

May 10, 2019

Idos, Gio Angelo G.
Experiment 8
Spectrophotometric Determination of Metal

DATA AND RESULTS

Table 1. Absorbance Readings of 50 ppm Standard Solution

λ (nm) 500 520 540 560 580 600 620 640 660 680 700
A 0.0200 0.0300 0.0458 0.0537 0.0587 0.0625 0.0614 0.0582 0.0537 0.0470 0.0414

Table 1 shows the absorbance readings of the 50 ppm Copper (II) solution.

50 ppm Cu2+ Solution

0.07

0.06

0.05
Absorbance

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
450 500 550 600 650 700 750
Wavelength (nm)

Figure 1. Line graph between the Absorbance and the Wavelength

Table 2. Absorbance Readings of Standard Solutions and Unknown

Sample Number Concentration (ppm Cu2+) Absorbance
Blank 0.0 0
Standard 1 10.0 0.0063
Standard 2 20.0 0.0291
Standard 3 30.0 0.0374
Standard 4 40.0 0.0503
Standard 5 50.0 0.0604
Unknown Sample Trial 1 18.56 0.0219
Unknown Sample Trial 2 18.02 0.0212
Unknown Sample Trial 3 16.01 0.0186
 Calibration Curve of the 10-50 ppm Standard Solutions
0.07

0.06

0.05
Absorbance

0.04

0.03

0.02

0.01

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Concentration Cu2+ (ppm)

Figure 2. Calibration Curve of the 10-50 ppm Standard Solutions

Figure 2 shows the calibration curve of the standard solutions at 10 ppm, 20 ppm, 30
ppm, 40 ppm and 50 ppm.

Calibration Curve of the Unknown Sample

0.0225
0.022
Trial 1
0.0215
Trial 2
0.021
Absorbance

0.0205
0.02
0.0195
0.019
0.0185 Trial 3

0.018
15.5 16 16.5 17 17.5 18 18.5 19
Concentration Cu2+ (ppm)

Figure 3. Calibration Curve of the Unknown Sample

 Figure 3 shows the calibration curve of the unknown sample from the three trials of
absorbance readings.

Calibration Curves of Standard and Unknown

0.07

0.06

0.05
Absorbance

0.04
Unknown
0.03
Standard
0.02

0.01

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Concentration Cu2+ (ppm)
Figure 4. Calibration Curve of the Standard Solution and Unknown Sample

Figure 4 shows the Calibration Curve of both the standard solutions in 10-50 ppm and
the unknown sample.

Using the data on table 2, the calculated results for the slope, y-intercept and equation of
the line are:
Table 3. Calculated Results for the Calibration Curve of the Unknown Sample
Slope of the line, m 0.00129
y-intercept, b -0.00212
y=0.00129x+(-0.00212)
𝐴−(−0.00212)
Equation of the line or 𝑐 = 0.00129

Table 3 shows the slope of the line, the y-intercept and the equation of the line based on
the measured readings of the unknown sample.
Table 4. Concentration of Unknown (ppm Cu2+)
Trial 1 18.56 ppm
Trial 2 18.02 ppm
Trial 3 16.01 ppm
Mean 17.53 ppm
 Table 4 shows the concentration readings of the three trials and their mean which is
17.53 ppm.
Table 5. % Cu and chemical formula of the unknown
% Cu in the sample 48.69%
Formula of the Unknown CuSO4

Table 5 shows the % Cu in the sample which is 48.69% and the chemical formula which
is CuSO4
POST-LAB QUESTIONS
1. Why is it important to take absorbance readings at the proper wavelength?
Taking absorbance reading in the proper wavelength is important since only light of
certain wavelengths will be absorbed by any given substance. The light will be absorbed
if the certain substance is present. Individual wavelengths will have different
wavelengths.
2. What is the purpose of using a reagent blank solution? Can pure distilled water be
used in place of it in this experiment? Explain.
The use of the blank reagent solution is to somehow “tare” the absorbance reading of all
the other components except the substance to be measured. Typically, the blank
contains reagents in a distilled water solution as if it is a sample. The resulting
absorbance of this blank should be very low and the used of the distilled water will not
be significant when used for aqueous solutions.
3. If the cuvette is held with the bare hand and not wiped before reading the
absorbance, how will the absorbance reading be affected?
Holding the cuvette on the clear sides with bare hands will disorient the light that will be
absorbed by the presence of dirt and fingerprints on the cuvette. This will lead to
abnormal readings.
4. If an absorbing species absorbs 1/5 of the incident light, what is its absorbance?
The absorbance of the sample will be greater sine the light measured will be less.
5. The concentrations you have been working with have units of parts per million.
Calculate the Cu content of the unknown in terms of %Cu and propose a chemical
formula for the unknown based on the common compounds of copper.
The Copper content is 48.69% and the proposed chemical formula is CuSO4.

REFERENCES
Harris, D. C. (2010). Quantitative chemical analysis (8th ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman.
Importance of Reagent Blank. Retrieved from http://www.bpcbiosed.it/fr/customercare/faq/165-
how-important-is-the-reagent-blank
Skoog, D. A., West, D. M., Holler, F. J., & Crouch, S. R. (201 4) Fundamentals of Analytical
Chemistry Ninth Edition. Mary Finch: Belmont, CA, USA
Spectrophotometry: Absorption Spectra and the Use of Light Absorption to Measure
Concentration. Retrieved from http://www.columbia.edu/itc/barnard/biology/biobc2004/
edit/experiments/Experiment1-Spec.pdf