According to the Beer-Lambert Law, how is the amount of light absorbed related to the concentration of the chemical?

The Beer-Lambert Law states that the absorbance of a substance is directly proportional to its concentration in a solution. This relationship can be represented mathematically as ( A = \varepsilon c l ), where ( A ) is the absorbance, ( \varepsilon ) is the molar absorptivity (a constant specific to each substance), ( c ) is the concentration of the solution, and ( l ) is the path length of the light through the solution.

As the concentration of the chemical increases, the amount of light that gets absorbed by the solution also increases. This is due to more molecules being present to interact with the incoming light, leading to greater absorption. Therefore, if you double the concentration, you would expect the absorbance to approximately double as well, indicating a direct relationship.

Thus, the direct proportionality between absorbance and concentration is a foundational principle in spectroscopy and is crucial for quantifying the amount of a chemical in a solution based on how much light is absorbed.