Trace amounts of rare elements are found within groundwater and are of interest
ID: 940906 • Letter: T
Question
Trace amounts of rare elements are found within groundwater and are of interest to geochemists. Europium and terbium are lanthanide-series elements that can be measured from the intensity of their fluorescence emitted when a solution is illuminated with ultraviolet radiation. Certain organic compounds that bind Eu(lll) and Tb(lll) enhance the emission, and substances found in natural waters can decrease the emission. For that reason it is necessary to use standard additions to the sample to correct for such interference. The graph at the right shows the result of such an experiment in which the concentration of Eu(lll) and Tb(lll) was measured in a sample of groundwater. In each case 10.00 ml_ of sample solution and 15.00 ml_ of of organic additive were placed in 50-mL volumetric flasks. Eu(lll) standards (0, 5.00, 10.00, 15.00, and 20.00 mL) were added and the flasks were diluted to 50.0 mL with water. The Eu(lll) standards added to the groundwater sample contained 0.160 ng/mL (ppb) of Eu(lll). Calculate the concentration of Eu(lll) in the groundwater sample. The Tb(lll) standards added to the groundwater sample contained 16.0 ng/mL (ppb) of Tb(lll). Calculate the concentration of Tb(lll) in the groundwater sample.Explanation / Answer
For Eu(III)
The effective increase in conc. By adding each 5 mL standard = 0.160 x 5.0/ 50.0 = 0.016 ng/mL
Now as seen from the graph, for 0.016 ng/mL increase in concentration the emission intensity increases by 2.5 units
hence the emission intensity of 12.0 units I.e. For sample is due to a concentration of 0.016 x 12.0/ 2.5 = 0.077 ng/mL
For Tb(III)
The effective increase in conc. By adding each 5 mL standard = 16.0 x 5.0/ 50.0 = 1.60 ng/mL
Now as seen from the graph, for 1.60 g/mL increase in concentration the emission intensity increases by 1.0 units
therefore an emission intensity of 2.5 unit i.e.for sample is due to a concentration of 1.60 x 2.5 = 4.0 ng/mL
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