How does a spectrophotometer measure reaction rates?
I am not quite sure if this is the answer you are looking for… A spectrophotometer measures light transmittance. Therefore, if the the chemical has altered in a way that it has become darker or lighter, then you know a reaction has taken place. The more extreme the change, the greater the reaction rate. In my biology class, we used spectrophotometers to determine the leakage of betacyanin (red dye in beat roots) after the cell membranes were destroyed by acids. We knew which acids were more effective and damaging by how much dye was released into the solution. If more dye was released, the light transmittance percentage decreased in a greater proportion. I hope this helps!
