Environmental Science Education

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Colorimetric Testing

Most test substances in water are colorless and undetectable by the human eye. Colorimeters and spectrophotometers are used to measure any test substance that is itself colored or can be reacted to produce a color. The definition of colorimetry is "the measure of color" and a colorimetric method is "any technique used to evaluate an unknown color in reference to known colors". In a colorimetric chemical test the intensity of the reaction must be proportional to the concentration of the substance being tested.