Question

Orders of magnitude are important for absorbance measurements. Absorbance is the quantitative measurement of how much light is absorbed by a material. The absorbance of a sample is related to the transmission using the relationship: absorbance = log(1/transmission). Transmission is defined as a ratio of the amount of light that passed (transmitted) through the sample (it) versus the amount of light from the light source that goes into the sample (i0): t=it/i0. If a sample has an absorbance of 2, what percentage of light was transmitted through the sample?

1) 50%
2) 25%
3) 10%
4) 5%

Answer 1

If a sample has an absorbance of 2, the percentage of light that was transmitted through the sample is 1%.

Step-by-step explanation:

The absorbance of a sample is related to the transmission using the relationship: A = log(1/T). In this equation, T represents the percentage of light that is transmitted through the sample.

If a sample has an absorbance of 2, we can substitute this value into the equation and solve for T.

A = log(1/T) --> 2 = log(1/T)

To find the percentage of light that was transmitted through the sample, we need to find the value of T. Using logarithmic properties, we can rewrite the equation: 10^2 = 1/T --> 100 = 1/T.

Therefore, T = 1/100 = 0.01 = 1%.