Chapter 26, Problem 34A

To determine

To Explain: The way to use a mass spectrometer to determine the composition of soil sample.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

A mass spectrometer helps to determine the composition of a sample by measuring its mass to charge ratio, presenting a mass spectrum and plotting intensity versus mass-to-charge ratio.

The soil sample collected from the crime scene can be put into mass spectrometer. There, the atoms turn into ions which are then separated when passed through electric field and thereafter through a magnetic field. The detector tallies those ions in different regions of mass spectrum. The information gathered from this, helps to determine the types of atoms i.e. the composition of soil.