Carl Kim
Acc. Chem- Mr. Tuttle
Flame Tests and Emission Spectra Lab Summary
Name | Color |
Calcium Nitrate | Orange |
Barium Nitrate | Faint Green |
Sodium Nitrate | Yellow |
Strontium Nitrate | Bright red, orange |
Unknown (Lithium Nitrate) | Dark Red |
Copper Nitrate | Green |
Lithium Nitrate | Scarlet Red |
Potassium Nitrate | Purple |
1) Which elements gave the most easily identifiable colors? Which gave the least easily identifiable colors? Why?
The most easily identifiable colors were Copper Nitrate, and Potassium Nitrate. They had unique easily identifiable colors like Sodium Nitrate had a bright yellow, Copper Nitrate had a goblin green, and Potassium had a purple hue. Calcium (orange), Barium (light green), Strontium (red, orange), the unknown (dark red), Lithium (scarlet red), and all had mixed colors and weren’t as unique.
2) Which elements gave the most intense color?
I think that Lithium and Copper gave off the most intense colors. Lithium was a dark red and it was the most intense however copper, which gave off a strong green, was also very noticeable.
3) Identify the unknown metal cation. Explain your reasoning. In general, can metal ions be identified using the colors produced in flame tests?
The unknown metal cation is thought to be Lithium. This is because both the unknown substance and Lithium gave off a dark/scarlet red. The next closest guess would be strontium but that was more of a red orangish color so it was eliminated as a choice. In general, it could but not all the time because some metal ions don’t emit color when reacting with flames but if you had two that did then yes you could.
4) Do you think flame tests are useful in detecting metal cations present in a mixture of metal ions? Explain your answer.
No because it isn’t very accurate. Some of the metal cations have similar colors and also some metal cations don't even emit color during the flame test.
5) What is the purpose of the cobalt...