Explore the Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration
Shine light through a colored solution and see how absorbance depends on concentration, width and wavelength. Free, no signup, runs in your browser.
- Free to use
- No signup
- Nothing to install
- Runs in your browser
Illustration. Open the tool for the real thing.
See it in action
The Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration with sample data entered and the result showing.
What is the Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration?
Shine light through a colored solution and see how absorbance depends on concentration, width and wavelength. It runs in your browser, so a change to a setting or a drag on an object shows up at once.
Hospitals measure hemoglobin and glucose, water labs test pollutants, and chemists find unknown concentrations with spectrophotometers using this law.
3 steps to your result
Open the tool and follow along. Nothing to install.
What you get
Absorbance A = ε × width × concentration.
Doubling the concentration or the width doubles the absorbance.
Transmittance T = 10 to the power of minus A, so the light dims exponentially.
Find the wavelength with the highest absorbance for each solute.
Double the concentration and check the absorbance doubles.
Make the cuvette three times wider and compare.
Used for
Pick one to see how it fits.
Chemistry Labs learners
Students preparing for practical exams and teachers who want a virtual lab.
Try it freeTeachers
For teachers: project the Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration on the board, let students predict the result, then run it together and test this: Double the concentration and check the absorbance doubles. For students: change one thing at a time and write down what changes.
Try it freeHow it compares
A plain look at this tool next to the usual alternative.
| This simulation | Textbook diagram | |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive | Drag, tap and change settings | Fixed picture |
| Install | Nothing to install | Not needed |
| Cost | Free to use | Depends on the book |
Questions people ask
What is absorbance?
A measure of how much light a sample absorbs. Each unit of absorbance cuts the light by a factor of ten.
Why do labs choose the peak wavelength?
At the wavelength where the solute absorbs most, small changes in concentration give the biggest change in the reading.
Is the Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration free to use?
Yes. The Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration is free, needs no signup or download and runs in your web browser. It is part of the Chemistry Labs group of AZRS simulations.
Does the Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration takes touch input as well as mouse input, so you can use its 4 adjustable settings with a finger. A larger screen makes the controls and graphs easier to read.
How do I use the Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration?
1. In the Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration, use the controls to change Solute, Concentration, Cuvette width, Wavelength of light. The simulation reacts instantly. 2. In the Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration, pick an option such as Potassium permanganate, Copper sulfate, Cobalt chloride, Nickel nitrate to switch modes or load an example. 3. In the Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration, press "Use the best wavelength" to start, reset or change what is happening. 4. Start with this experiment: Find the wavelength with the highest absorbance for each solute. Drag any glowing handle, object or slider with your mouse or finger and the Beer's Law Lab: Absorbance & Concentration responds in real time. 5. Change one setting at a time and watch which readout moves, then compare it with this idea: Absorbance A = ε × width × concentration.
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Shine light through a colored solution and see how absorbance depends on concentration. Free to use.
Try it free