Spectrophotometer

Spectrophotometers are instruments that send electromagnetic radiation into a target and measure the resulting interaction of the energy and the target. You will use a UV/VIS spectrophotometer (one that operates in the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum) to measure the absorption spectra of three substances in the 340–600 nanometer wavelength region of the spectrum. You will graph the absorption versus wavelength data, and compare the appearance of the substance to the observed absorption pattern. The Spec 20 is a simple, low cost UV/VIS spectrophotometer. An image of the machine is shown on page 54. Here is a diagram of its light path: