they are very sensitive - they can detect the tiniest amount of substances
they are very fast
they are very accurate - no room for human error
infrared spectroscopy
produces a graph showing which frequencies of infrared radiation a molecule will absorb or transmit.
you can use the absorbance pattern on the graph to identify the molecule.
a graph produced by a spectrometer is called a spectrum.
ultraviolet spectroscopy
produces a graph showing which frequencies of ultraviolet light a molecule will absorb.
gs chromatography
used to separate out the chemicals in a mixture.
this technique produces a chromatogram with one peak for each chemical. the time that each chemical takes to pass through the machine is called the retention time.
the retention time can be used to identify the substance.
mass spectroscopy
a technique that can be used to find the relative molecule mass of a mystery compound [or the relative atomic mass of a mystery element.
