Problems in UV-Vis Spectroscopy:

1. A 0.5693-g sample of insulation was analyzed for formaldehyde residue by extraction with
25.00 mL of extracting solution. After extraction, the sample was filtered and the filtrate
analyzed without further dilution. The concentration of formaldehyde in this extract was
determined to be 4.20 ppm. What is the concentration of formaldehyde in the insulation?

2. A water sample was tested for iron content, but was diluted prior to obtaining the instrument
reading. The dilution involved taking 10 mL of the sample and dilution it to 100 mL. If the
instrument reading gave a concentration of 0.891 ppm, for this diluted sample, what is the
concentration in the diluted sample?

3. A 2.000-g soil sample was analyzed for potassium content by extracting the potassium using
10.00 mL of aqueous ammonium acetate solution. The soil was rinsed and the solution diluted to
exactly 50.00 mL. Then, 1.00 mL of this solution was diluted to 25 mL and measured with an
instrument. The concentration in this 25 mL was found to be 3.18 ppm. What is the
concentration of the potassium in the soil in ppm?
4. A sample is analyzed to determine the concentration of an analyte. Under the conditions of the
analysis the sensitivity is 17.2 ppm–1. What is the analyte’s concentration if Stotal is 35.2 and
Sreag is 0.6?

For numbers 5-9:

An analyst needs to evaluate the potential effect of an interferent, I, on the quantitative analysis
for an analyte, A. She begins by measuring the signal for a sample in which the interferent is
absent and the analyte is present with a concentration of 15 ppm, obtaining an average signal of
23.3 (arbitrary units). When she analyzes a sample in which the analyte is absent and the
interferent is present with a concentration of 25 ppm, she obtains an average signal of 13.7.

5. What is the sensitivity for the analyte?

6. What is the sensitivity for the interferent?

7. What is the value of the selectivity coefficient?

8. Is the method more selective for the analyte or the interferent?

9. What is the maximum concentration of interferent relative to that of the analyte if the error in
the analysis is to be less than 1%?

For numbers 10-13:

Ibrahim and co-workers developed a new method for the quantitative analysis of hypoxanthine, a
natural compound of some nucleic acids.14 As part of their study they evaluated the method’s
selectivity for hypoxanthine in the presence of several possible interferents, including ascorbic
acid.

10. When analyzing a solution of 1.12×10–6 M hypoxanthine the authors obtained a signal of
7.45×10–5 amps. What is the sensitivity for hypoxanthine? You may assume the signal has been
corrected for the method blank.

11. When a solution containing 1.12×10–6 M hypoxanthine and 6.5×10–5 M ascorbic acid is
analyzed a signal of 4.04×10–5 amps is obtained. What is the selectivity coefficient for this
method?
12. Is the method more selective for hypoxanthine or for ascorbic acid?

13. What is the largest concentration of ascorbic acid that may be present if a concentration of
1.12×10–6 M hypoxanthine is to be determined within 1.0%?

For 14-16

The Wien displacement law states that the wavelength maximum in micrometers for blackbody
radiation is

where T is the temperature in kelvins.

14. Calculate the wave- length maximum for a blackbody that has been heated to *(a) 4000 K,
(b) 3000 K, *(c) 2000 K, and (d) 1000 K.

15. Calculate the wavelength of maximum emission of a tungsten-filament bulb operated at 2870
K and at 3000 K.
16. Calculate the total energy output of the bulb in W/cm2.

or 17 – 20

A portable photometer with a linear response to radiation registered a photocurrent of 75.9 𝜇A

with a blank solution in the light path. Replacement of the blank with an absorbing solution
yielded a response of 23.5 𝜇A. Calculate

17. The percent transmittance of the sample solution

18. The absorbance of the sample solution

19. The transmittance to be expected for a solution in which the concentration of the absorber is
one third that of the original sample solution.
20. The transmittance to be expected for a solution that has twice the concentration of the sample
solution.