Which two characteristics must a substance exhibit that would allow you to use a spectrophotometer to determine its concentration?

Answer 1

To use a spectrophotometer to determine the concentration of a substance, the substance must exhibit the following two characteristics:

1. Absorbance of Light: The substance must be able to absorb light at a specific wavelength. This is critical because the absorption of light allows for the measurement of concentration via Beer-Lambert law, which relates absorbance to concentration.

2. Linearity: The relationship between absorbance and concentration must be linear over the concentration range of interest. This means that as the concentration of the substance increases, the absorbance should increase proportionally, allowing for accurate quantification.

These characteristics ensure that the measurements taken by the spectrophotometer can be reliably used to determine the concentration of the substance in a solution.