Scribd
Upload
10 views

Practical 3

The aim of the experiment was to determine the concentration of copper in an unknown sample using atomic absorption spectrometry. Standard copper solutions of known concentrations were prepared and used to construct a calibration curve by plotting absorbance vs. concentration. The absorbance of the unknown sample was then measured and its concentration determined using the calibration curve. It was found to be 0.85 mg/L, consistent with the calculated concentration using the linear regression equation derived from the calibration curve. The high r-squared value of 0.9978 indicated a strong linear relationship between absorbance and concentration.

Uploaded by

kaybeesme4
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
10 views

Practical 3

The aim of the experiment was to determine the concentration of copper in an unknown sample using atomic absorption spectrometry. Standard copper solutions of known concentrations were prepared and used to construct a calibration curve by plotting absorbance vs. concentration. The absorbance of the unknown sample was then measured and its concentration determined using the calibration curve. It was found to be 0.85 mg/L, consistent with the calculated concentration using the linear regression equation derived from the calibration curve. The high r-squared value of 0.9978 indicated a strong linear relationship between absorbance and concentration.

Uploaded by

kaybeesme4
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 2

The aim of the experiment was to prepare standard and sample solutions of copper and determine

copper concentration in the unknown sample by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS), using flame
atomic absorption spectrophotometer and be able to interpret a calibration curve and formulate the
regression equation.

Atomic absorption spectroscopy detects elements in liquid or solid samples by applying characteristic
wavelengths of electromagnetic radiation from a light source.Individual elements absorb different
wavelengths and these absorptions are measured.Depending on the wavelength of light and its
intensity, specific elements can be detected and their concentrations measured (Andrew, 2000).Flame
atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) is suitable for measuring a limited range of elements present at
concentrations greater than their approximate concentrations.1. 0 μg ml, flame atomic absorption
spectroscopy (AAS) was used to measure the concentrations of four different metal cations (Ca, Mg, Na,
and K) present in the filtered acidified water.Qualitative analysis is easily performed by constructing a
calibration curve based on the measured radiation absorption of the sample in the flame (Andrew,
2000).Most elements that can be measured by atomic absorption are detected using sensitivity.

Procedure

The stock of 1000ppm copper was already prepared. A series of five working standards of
concentrations in 100ug/L of copper of 100ppm, 200ppm, 300ppm, 400ppm and 1000ppm Cu standards
solutions were prepared by appropriate dilution of copper standard solution with the Unknown, into
five 50ml volumetric flaks.The blank was the stock solution of copper diluted with aspirated (acidified
water) to set the automatic zero control. Lastly the absorbance of the series of standard and unknown
concentration sample solutions by the AAS instrument was measured with the assistance of the
instructor. A calibration curve was prepared by plotting the absorbance of standards as a function of Cu
concentration.The concentration of the copper in the unknown sample was determined by reading the
concentration of the sample which correspond to its absorption intensity from the calibration curve.

DISCUSSION

The experiment was to interpret a calibration curve and determine the concentration of unknown
sample of copper using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer. A graph of absorption vs
concentration was plotted and a straight calibration line was obtained. Using a dotted line to draw on
the calibration curve the corresponding absorption intensity of copper to the unknown concentration;
the value of the unknown concentration was obtained. It was found to be 0.85mg/L, this value
corresponds to the absorption intensity of 0.35558 obtained from the flame atomic absorption
spectrophotometer readout. Using the equation of a line from the graph the unknown concentration
was calculated to be mg/L.According to the data read by FAA spectrometer, the graph plotted gave the
equation of a straight-line y=0.0524x+0.0506. Since absorbance is directly proportional to concentration,
then an increase in concentration increases absorbance because if the concentration of solution is
increased. then there are more molecules that can be atomized when it passes through the flame to the
detector (Michael, 2017). This was proved with a positive gradient of the graph.R squared known to be
the coefficient of determination tells one how many points fall on the regression line (Farey, 2000).
From the calibration curve above r-squared was found to be 0.9978 so this means that 99.78% of the
variation of y-values around the mean are explained by the x-values. The regression coefficient (R) of the
linear regression should be 0.995 to prove linearity (Nazir, 2015). The value obtained in this experiment
was R-0.9978 so this indicated that there was a strong linear relationship between the two parameters
and this proves an excellent linearity. A significant disadvantage to flame atomic absorption is that the
efficiency of atomization may be quite poor because the majority of the aerosol droplets produced
during nebulization are too large to be carried to the flame by the combustion gases so consequently
95% of the sample never reaches the flame (Nicole, 2015). A second reason for poor atomization
efficiency is that the large volume of combustion gases significantly dilutes the sample.

Additional errors include failure to dilute the solutions in the volumetric flask to the mark, that is either
diluting below or above the mark. This error is called parallax error. It can be corrected by using
micropipettes to correctly position the meniscus above the mark. The same error mightbeen
encountered when measuring volumes using a pipette.

You might also like