Chapter 20 – Spectrophotometers 1

Multiple-Choice

1. Which of the following statements regarding double beam spectrophotometers is NOT

true?

A) The reference beam allows for automatic correction for source intensity fluctuations.
B) Comparison of the power emerging from the sample and reference beams determines
absorbance and transmittance.
C) The reference beam allows for automatic correction for detector drift.
D) The reference beam is created using a stationary mirror.
E) The reference beam is created using a rotating mirror.

Answer: D
Intermediate

20-1 Lamps and Lasers: Sources of Light

2. Spectrophotometers employ various sources of light. Which of the following is NOT true
for spectrophotometer light sources?

A) Tungsten lamps emit radiation over the visible spectrum and parts of the ultraviolet and
infrared spectrums.
B) Dueterium arc lamps use controlled electric discharges to cause D2 to dissociate and emit
visible radiation.
C) Light emitting diodes emit narrow bands of visible and near-infrared radiation.
D) Lasers emit radiation of a single wavelength.
E) A silicon carbide globar emits infrared radiation when heated to near 1500 K.

Answer: B
Intermediate

3. Which property of laser light is NOT correctly defined/described?

A) monochromatic: emits one wavelength of light

B) extremely bright: high power at one wavelength
C) collimated: parallel rays of light
D) polarized: electric field oscillates between two perpendicular planes
E) coherent: all waves in phase

Answer: D
Easy

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 Chapter 20 – Spectrophotometers 2

20-2 Monochromators

4. Which of the following monochromator terms is NOT correctly defined?

A) grating: optical element with closely spaced lines

B) diffraction: bending of light by a grating
C) refraction: scattering of light by a lens or prism
D) polychromatic: multiple wavelengths
E) monochromatic: one wavelength

Answer: C
Intermediate

5. Calculate the minimum grating length to successfully resolve 616.50 nm from 616.59 nm
for first-order diffraction. The available diffraction grating is 103 grooves per cm.

A) 13.7 cm
B) 1.00 cm
C) 111.1 cm
D) 0.15 cm
E) 6.85 cm

Answer: E
Intermediate

6. Stray light is a problem for spectrophotometers that are not tightly sealed. What is the
impact of stray light on the recorded absorbance?

A) The apparent absorbance is greater than true absorbance and increases as the amount of
stray light increases.
B) The apparent absorbance is greater than true absorbance and decreases as the amount of
stray light increases.
C) The apparent absorbance is less than the true absorbance and increases as the amount of
stray light decreases.
D) The apparent absorbance is less than the true absorbance and decreases as the amount of
stray light decreases.
E) Impossible to determine effect of stray light on measured absorbance.

Answer: C
Intermediate

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 Chapter 20 – Spectrophotometers 3

7. A disperses light into its component wavelengths and selects a

narrow band of wavelengths to pass on to the sample or detector.

A) polychromator
B) photodiode array
C) monochromator
D) charge couple device
E) photomultiplier tube

Answer: C
Easy

20-3 Detectors

8. Which statement(s) is(are) true for photomultiplier tubes?

I Photomultiplier tubes are very sensitive detectors, amplifying the photoelectron current
by approximately 1 million.
II Emitted photoelectrons are accelerated toward positively charged electrodes called
dynodes.
III Electrons strike the dynode with a kinetic energy less than the original emitted kinetic
energy.
IV For each electron striking a dynode, more than one electron is knocked free. The
additional electrons are accelerated toward the next dynode in the detector where amplification is
repeated.

A) II
B) I and IV
C) II, III, and IV
D) I, II, and IV
E) II and III

Answer: D
Intermediate

9. Which is NOT an appropriate detector for a spectrophotometer?

A) photomultiplier tube
B) thermal conductivity
C) photodiode array
D) charged coupled device
E) phototube

Answer: B
Intermediate

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 Chapter 20 – Spectrophotometers 4

10. Which is NOT true for photodiode arrays?

A) Photodiode arrays respond to more than one wavelength.

B) Photodiode arrays require a polychromator to detect more than one wavelength.
C) Photodiode arrays allow for rapid acquisition of an entire light spectrum.
D) Photodiode arrays have higher signal-to-noise ratios.
E) Spectrophotometers using photodiode arrays are dispersive spectrometers.

Answer: E
Intermediate

11. response is a function of incident light and produce an electrical

current when struck by . For a given radiant power, current is
analyte concentration.

A) Optical; photons; constant for varying

B) Detector; photons; proportional to
C) Analyte; analyte particles; constant for varying
D) Detector; analyte particles; inversely proportional to
E) Optical; analyte particles; inversely proportional to

Answer: B
Easy

20-4 Optical Sensors

12. Which statements are true for optical fibers?

I Optical fibers carry light by total internal refraction.

II Optical fibers are constructed of a high-refractive-index transparent core enclosed in a
lower refractive-index transparent cladding.
III Optical fibers exploit Snells Law, n1 sin 1 = n2 sin 2, to transmit light along the length of
the optical fiber.
IV If n1/n2 < 1, there is an allowed range of angles i in which essentially all light is reflected
at the walls of the core, with negligible amounts of light penetrating the cladding.

A) I and IV
B) I, II, and IV
C) II, III, and IV
D) II and III
E) II and IV

Answer: D
Intermediate

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 Chapter 20 – Spectrophotometers 5

13. are optical sensors based on an optical fiber.

A) Optodes
B) Optides
C) Optectors
D) Optubes
E) Pristrodes

Answer: A
Easy

20-5 Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

14. Two components of an interferometer are a moveable mirror and a beam splitter. Which
of the following are NOT true statements regarding each component in creating an
interferogram?

I When the mirror travels a distance of /4, deconstructive interference occurs.

II The beam splitter alternates the incident light between a reference and the sample.
III When the mirror travels a distance of /2, deconstructive interference occurs.
IV The beam splitter splits the incident light between the stationary mirror and the moveable
mirror.

A) I and II
B) I and IV
C) II and III
D) II and IV
E) III and IV

Answer: C
Intermediate

20-6 Dealing with Noise

15. Which property of noise does signal averaging exploit to improve the signal-to-noise
ratio?

A) Noise is loud.
B) Noise is random.
C) Noise is predictable.
D) Noise drifts.
E) The amplitude of noise is a constant.

Answer: B
Intermediate

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 Chapter 20 – Spectrophotometers 6

16. There are many types of noise. Of the noise types below, which is NOT correctly
defined?

A) line noise – noise that occurs at discrete frequencies

B) drift noise – low frequency noise caused by flickering or drifting of light intensity
C) Gaussian noise – noise amplitude is dependent on frequency
D) Johnson noise – random fluctuations of electrons in electronic devices
E) shot noise – noise that arises from random variation in the number of photons reaching
the detector or small number of electrons and holes generated in a semiconductor

Answer: C
Intermediate

Calculated

20-2 Monochromators

17. The monochromator for a new instrument design must successfully resolve 0.005 nm at
631 nm. Calculate the minimum number of grooves per centimeter for the diffraction grating if
the grating has a length of 5 cm. Assume first order diffraction.

Answer: 25240
Intermediate
Plug the wavelength, delta wavelength, and n = 1 into the monochromator equation to determine
the number of lines needed, N. N/5 cm = # of grooves for cm required.

18. The true absorbance for a 1.0 x 10−5 M solution is 0.7526. If the percentage stray light for
a spectrophotometer is 0.56%, calculate the percentage by which the apparent concentration
deviates from the known concentration.

Answer: 0.30%
Hard
Calculate the molar absorptivity from the known absorbance and concentration. Next, calculate
the apparent absorbance from true absorbance and the percent stray light. Use the apparent
absorbance and the molar absorptivity to calculate the apparent concentration. ((True
concentration – apparent concentration)/true concentration) ∙100 = 0.30%.

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 Chapter 20 – Spectrophotometers 7

19. Ni emits light at 345.85 nm and 346.17 nm in an atomic emission spectrophotometer. Can
the spectrophotometer’s monochromator successfully resolve 345.85 nm from 346.17 nm? The
grating has a length of 5.0 cm in length and there are 5500 grooves per cm. Assume first-order
diffraction.

Answer: The required resolution to differentiate between the Ni emission lines is 345.85 nm/0.32
nm = 1080.8. The resolution of the monochromator is calculated by first determining  345.85
nm/  = 1(27500 grooves)  = 0.0126 nm. Resolution is 345.85 nm/0.0126 nm = 27448.4.
The actual resolution of the monochromator is 25.40 times greater than needed.
Hard

20-6 Dealing with Noise

20. The signal-to-noise ratio for a single spectrum is 2.18. How many additional scans are
required to increase the signal-to-noise ratio by a factor of 50?

Answer: A total of 2500 total scans are required, so 2499 additional scans.
Intermediate
The square of the factor increase is the number of required scans to signal average.

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