A solution is placed in a cuvette (picture below)- about 3/4 of the cuvette is filled, and a beam of light (from inside the spectrophotometer-the cuvette is placed in the open door) is shone through the cuvette. The purpose of the beam of light is to see how much light "gets through" the solution, thus indicating the concentration of the solution.
If a solution is more concentrated, then less light will pass through, because a certain amount of light is absorbed by the solution.
The light is beamed towards the sample solution using an entrance slit, which directs the light. The light will pass through the solution and then reach a source. The source usually measures the wavelength of the light in order to convey how much light passes through.
The number given can either be absorption (the amount of light that does not pass through) or transmission (the amount of light that passes through the solution).
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