Question

1. Write the names of any two Analytical Instruments. Also write their applications.

Answer 1

Analytical instruments are used for analytical applications in chemical setups such as determination of composition. It includes spectrometry, chromatography, coulometry etc.
There are a variety of analytical instruments such as Spectrophotometer, chromatographs, titrators, rheometers etc.
We will discuss the first two instruments i.e Spectrometer and Chromatograph.
1) Spectrometer: It is an instrument that is used to measure the amount of light absorbed by a sample under consideration. It works by passing a beam of light through the sample and we get to measure the light intensity of that sample. The amount of a chemical substance present in the sample i.e its concentration can be determined by measuring the intensity of light detected.
Some of the applications of spectrometer are:
•Analysing dissolved oxygen content in water sources
•Analysis of respiratory gases provided to hospitals.
•Characterisation of proteins based on their composition
•Studying spectral emissons of galaxies
Atomic absorption spectroscopy and X ray spectroscopy are some of other wide range applications of spectroscopy.

2) Chromatograph: Chromatograph is another analytical instrument which is used to perform analysis on various substances present in a sample. In other words, we carry out chromatography. Chromatography is a method of separating out a mixture of chemicals. In this method a chemical which is either in gas or liquid form comprises of various compounds. These different compounds are separated by passing them slowly over another substance, which is either a liquid or solid. This another substance has more affinity towards any one of the compounds present in that chemical, hence attracts it more and as a result that compound moves slowly as compared to the other compound present in the same chemical. This way a separation is achieved.
Various types of chromatographs are Thin layer chromatograph, gas chromatograph, high performance liquid chromatograph (HPLC) etc.
Some of the applications of chromatographs are:
•Testing for trace elements present in a sample.
•Testing samples for quality check of products, to determine whether the components are in desirable quantities or not.
•Separation of chiral compounds from samples.
•In pharmaceutical companies, to determine the quantity of each component present i.e drug testing.
•In food and beverage testing, to determine the composition of food samples.
•In forensic testing, by testing the blood and other evidence samples.