A calibration curve was used to determine the unknown concentration of an element in a solution. The instrument was calibrated using several solutions of known concentrations. The absorbance of each known solution was measured and then a calibration curve of concentration vs. absorbance was plotted.
The sample solution was fed into the instrument, and the absorbance of the element in this
solution was measured. The unknown concentration of the element was then calculated from the calibration curve. The concentration of the analyte element was considered to be
proportional to the ground state atom population in the flame; any factor that affected the ground state atom population was classified as interference.