Using the equation from the previous problem, determine the concentration of substance Z if the A600 is measured to be 0.59.

You may copy/paste the following to indicate "micro"- μ. Please give your answer to one decimal place.

Your Answer:
Question 19 options:
0.073 ng/μL units

Explain how you got the answer.
Include equation used to solve the problem, what numbers you substituted for which variables, the math necessary to solve this answer, and the appropriate units with this answer

1 answer

To determine the concentration of substance Z based on the absorbance at 600 nm (A600), we can use the Beer-Lambert Law, which is commonly stated in the following equation:

\[ A = \epsilon \cdot c \cdot l \]

where:

  • \( A \) = absorbance (A600 in this case)
  • \( \epsilon \) = molar absorptivity (L/(mol·cm))
  • \( c \) = concentration of the substance (mol/L)
  • \( l \) = path length of the cuvette in centimeters (typically, \( l \) is 1 cm in many experiments)

For our convenience, we need to solve for the concentration \( c \):

\[ c = \frac{A}{\epsilon \cdot l} \]

Given Data:

  • A600 = 0.59
  • We need to assume values for ε and l since they are not provided in your question.

Assuming ε and l: Let’s assume:

  1. ε (molar absorptivity for Substance Z) = 100,000 L/(mol·cm), which is a typical value for many substances.
  2. Path length \( l \) = 1 cm.

Substituting the Values:

Using the assumed values in the formula, we can calculate the concentration \( c \):

\[ c = \frac{A600}{\epsilon \cdot l} \]

Substituting in the values:

\[ c = \frac{0.59}{100,000 \cdot 1} \] \[ c = 0.0000059 \text{ mol/L} \]

Converting mol/L to ng/μL:

Now, we need to convert mol/L to ng/μL:

  1. The molecular weight of substance Z would usually be needed for a precise conversion. For simplicity, let's assume the molecular weight (MW) of substance Z = 100 g/mol, which is a hypothetical value.

\[ c = 0.0000059 \text{ mol/L} \times 100,000 \frac{g}{mol} \times 1,000,000 \frac{ng}{g} \]

Calculation:

\[ c = 5.9 \text{ ng/mL} \] We need to convert this to ng/μL: \[ 5.9 \text{ ng/mL} = 0.0059 \text{ ng/μL} \]

Final Conversion:

So for numerical convenience, we need to round to one decimal place:

\[ c = 0.1 \text{ ng/μL} \]

Conclusion:

Your final answer for the concentration of substance Z, assuming ε and the molecular weight are appropriate for the given context, is:

Your Answer: 0.1 ng/μL

Explanation Recap: We used the Beer-Lambert Law, calculated concentration from absorbance, assumed values for molecular absorptivity and path length, converted units properly, and arrived at our final value. Always validate ε and MW in practical cases for accurate results.