Problem Sheet 6

Calibration Curves

A. Calibration Curves

1. Quinine may be determined by measuring the fluorescence intensity in 1 M sulphuric acid

solution. Standard solutions of quinine gave the following fluorescence values.

Concentration of quinine (x1) g ml-1 0.00 0.10 0.20 0.30 0.40

Fluorescence intensity (y1) 0.00 5.20 9.90 15.30 19.10

The line of best fit is y=48.3x+0.24

a) Obtain a value for R2 and establish if concentration and fluorescence are correlated.
b) What intensity would you expect to obtain for a concentration of 0.25g ml-1
c) Establish the limit of detection from the calibration curve

2. When a colorimetric assay of the nickel content of a steel sample was undertaken the
following standards were assayed initially to determine a calibration curve for the assay.

Concentration of nickel (x1) g ml-1 0.0 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0
Absorbance (y1) 0.18 0.32 0.45 0.58 0.72 0.87

Determine R2. The equation of the line of best fit is 0.0683x +0.1788

An unknown sample of nickel was assayed using the same conditions and gave an absorbance of
0.623. What was the concentration of nickel in the unknown sample in g ml-1, ppm and molarity?
M.W Nikel: 58.69 g/mol
3. A fluoride ion selective electrode was used to analyse for fluoride in drinking water. The range
for which the water treatment plant aims is 1.00  0.1 ppm. Each day three standards and six
periodic samples were analysed. The pH and ionic strength were buffered for all solutions before
analysis. The following values were obtained for one day’s analysis:
Solution E (mV)

1.00 x 10-4 M F- 40.5

5.00 x 10-5 M F- 60.2
1.00 x 10-5 M F- 100.0

Solution E (mV)

Sample 1 57.6
Sample 2 61.0
Sample 3 60.7
Sample 4 59.3
Sample 5 59.6
Sample 6 59.4

a) What kind of algebraic relationship do you expect between the potential and the fluoride ion
concentration?
b) The line of best fit through the experimental points is y=-58.974x-194.47. Based on your
calibration standards, what is the level of F- in ppm for the water samples?
c) Is the average for the day within the range set by the water treatment plant?

4. The example below demonstrates the use of standard additions in the polarographic
determination of cadmium. Calculate the concentration of the original cadmium solution (25cm 3) in
mg/l cadmium if each of the additions was 100l of 0.15M cadmium. The standard addition
calibration curve when the x axis is mg of Cd added is y= 2.1085x+ 3.905.