The Qui Phan
Mrs.Saraceno
Chemistry 1Grey
20 January 2015
Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to identify elements for Group I and II using the property of flame color
Materials:
1. Bunsen Burner
2. Flint striker or matches
3. Water soaked wood splint
4. 6 unknown metals (salts) from Group I and II
Procedure:
1. Light your Bunsen burner so it has a low, hot flame.
2. You have 6 soaked wood splints, one for each substance. (Done for you.)
3. Dip one wood splint into the container of a substance collecting a small amount of substance on the end the wood splint.
4. Carefully pass the wood splint through the flame.
5. Observe the color of the flame as it changes and record the color in the data table.
6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for each substance, three times each.
7. When you are finished clean up your lab station.
8. Return to your desk and get a select from the instructor to identify each unknown substance.
9. Answer the questions.
Data:
Unknown
Substance
Trial #1
Trial #2
Trial #3
Unknown
Substance
Name
1
Green
Green
Green
Barium
2
Orange
Orange-Sparky
Orange-Sparky
Cobalt II
Chloride
3
Yellow-White
Yellow-Blue
Yellow-Green
Copper
4
Red-Orange
Orange
Red-Orange
Calcium
5
Orange
Bright Orange
Bright Orange
Sodium
6
Light Purple
Purple
Dark Purple
Potassium
Data Analysis: Indentifying a substance by examining only one property is invalid because two substances could possibly share the same characteristic. For example, Calcium, Sodium, and Cobalt all have an orangeish colored flame when the element is burned. If a green line with a wavelength of 486 nm was observed in the emission spectrum of hydrogen, the energy of one photon of the green light would be 4.09 x 10^-19 J. When the element is placed into a flame, the heat of the fire burns the element,