values should be recorded in your lab notebook.
7. Before you measure the absorbance of a solution, you must calibrate the colorimeter at the appropriate
wavelength.
Over simplifying slightly, the calibration “tells” the colorimeter to ignore any absorbance by the
solvent, in this case the FeCl3 solution. Press the < or > button on the colorimeter so as to set the wavelength to
565 nm.
(The solutions that you are preparing absorb most of the visible light at this wavelength).
Rinse the
cuvette twice with the acidified 0.02 M iron(III) chloride solution.
Discard this rinse into your waste beaker.
Fill a
cuvette about ¾ full with the acidified 0.02 M iron(III) chloride solution, cap it and then wipe the clear sides with a
Kimwipe (tissue).
Kimwipes are used instead of paper towels because kimwipes will not
scratch the optical
surface of the cuvet. Open the lid of the colorimeter and insert the cuvette making sure that the clear sides of the
cuvette line up with the arrow at the top of the cuvette slot.
Close the lid.
Press the CAL button and release.
The
red light should flash briefly and the absorbance reading on the LabQuest should be 0.000 or 0.001.
The
colorimeter is now calibrated and ready for use.
8.
Rinse the cuvette two times with Solution 1.
Use the pipette to transfer the solution to the cuvette, and use a
waste beaker for the rinsings.
Then fill the cuvette about ¾ full with Solution 1, cap it and then wipe the clear
sides with a Kimwipe (tissue).
Open the lid of the colorimeter and insert the cuvette making sure that the clear
sides of the cuvette line up with the arrow at the top of the cuvette slot.
Close the lid.
Start collecting absorbance
data b
y tapping the green arrow, ►,
on the lower left of the screen.
This will be Run 1. The plot should look
something like this; do not be alarmed if the absorbance values vary by 0.1 absorbance units:
