Question

the absorption spectrum of a certain red dye is shown above. if a student analyzing the same concentration of this dye neglected to wipe fingerprints off the cuvette before placing it in the spectrophotometer, how would the absorption curve be affected? a the peak of the curve would be higher because more light would be absorbed. b the peak of curve would be lower because less light would be absorbed. c the peak of the curve would be shifted to the left because less light would be absorbed. d the peak of the curve would be shifted to the right because more light would be absorbed.

Explanation:

Fingerprints on the cuvette scatter light, reducing the amount of light reaching the detector. According to the Beer - Lambert law, absorbance is related to the amount of light absorbed by the sample. With less light reaching the detector due to scattering by fingerprints, the measured absorbance will be higher as the instrument interprets the loss of light as absorption by the dye. So the peak of the absorption curve (which represents maximum absorbance) will be higher.

Answer:

A. The peak of the curve would be higher because more light would be absorbed.