AP Chemistry 3.13: Beer-Lambert Law
Practice AP Chemistry 3.13 questions on using absorbance and calibration data to determine concentration and select wavelengths for spectrophotometry.
- Syllabus
- Effective Fall 2025
- Course
- AP Chemistry
Practice AP Chemistry 3.13 questions on using absorbance and calibration data to determine concentration and select wavelengths for spectrophotometry.
A student wants to determine the concentration of permanganate, MnO4−(aq), in a solution. The student plans to use colorimetric analysis because solutions containing MnO4−(aq) have a purple color.

To determine the optimum wavelength for an experiment that measures the concentration of MnO4−(aq), the student takes a sample of the solution and measures the amount of light absorbed by the sample over a range of wavelengths. The data are plotted in the graph shown. Identify the optimum wavelength that the student should use for the experimental procedure.
For the correct answer: 525 nm
1 point
Assuming that all lab equipment is functioning properly, identify which one of the procedural steps the student could have executed incorrectly that would explain why the marked data point is below the line of best fit. Justify your answer.

For the correct answer and a valid justification: The student could have improperly executed step 3. If the cuvette was not rinsed with the standard solution prior to being filled for the measurement of absorbance, the standard solution would be diluted by the remaining distilled water, and the absorbance would be lower than what it should be.
1 point
Total for question 64 points