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Visible Light in Order From Least Energetic To Most. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet)

This lab involves performing flame tests on metal salt solutions to identify the metal based on flame color. Students will test known metal salt solutions of sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, strontium, barium, and lithium, observing the color of flames and recording results. They will then test an unknown solution and attempt to identify the metal based on the flame color. Flame tests work because heating metals in flames causes their electrons to absorb energy and emit light of characteristic colors when returning to lower energy states.

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Taylor
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74 views3 pages

Visible Light in Order From Least Energetic To Most. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet)

This lab involves performing flame tests on metal salt solutions to identify the metal based on flame color. Students will test known metal salt solutions of sodium, potassium, calcium, copper, strontium, barium, and lithium, observing the color of flames and recording results. They will then test an unknown solution and attempt to identify the metal based on the flame color. Flame tests work because heating metals in flames causes their electrons to absorb energy and emit light of characteristic colors when returning to lower energy states.

Uploaded by

Taylor
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Flame Test Lab

Name: Taylor Summers Period: 3 Date: 2/18/20

By placing atoms of a metal into a flame, electrons can be induced to jump to an excited energy
state. They then return to their ground state by emitting light energy of a certain frequency. The amount
of energy determines the frequency and hence the color. Remember that ROYGBIV gives us colors of
Visible light in order from least energetic to most. (Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet).
The arrangement of electrons in an atom determines the sizes of the electron jumps and thus the energies
and colors of the light emitted, known as emission spectrum. This spectrum of an element is as
individual as a fingerprint. Astronomers, for example, can analyze the various spectra in the light
coming from stars and determine what elements are present millions of miles away!!

In this lab we will record the flame test color of several metals by capturing droplets of solutions
of salts, or ionic compounds of those metals on wooden splints then placing them into a bunsen burner
flame. We will attempt to use spectroscopes to view the separate colors of the emission spectra, but this
is difficult to do under lab conditions because the flame test is of short duration. Finally, we will use
the data collected to identify a metal in an unknown salt solution. This process is the same utilized by
chemical laboratories to identify the make-up of chemical contamination in chemical spills, landfills,
industrial sites, etc.

Materials:

Bunsen burner, sparker, wooden splints, metal salts of Na, K, Ca, Cu, Sr, Ba, Li, spatulas, unknown
solution, spectroscope, beaker with tap water, thermal gloves for the salts.

Procedure:

1. Obtain your goggles and gloves to begin your laboratory experiment.

2. After demonstrating to your teacher that your group understands the procedure to be followed, light
your Bunsen burner and adjust the flame to where you can see the light blue inner cone (see Figure 1)

Figure 1. Bunsen burner


Barrel: Area where air and gas mix

Collar: Can be turned to adjust the intake of air. If you make the holes larger, more air will be drawn
into the barrel.

Air Intake: Holes in the collar through which air is drawn in.

3. Fill a 150 mL beaker half way with water and keep in close proximity to your Bunsen burner.
Students will utilize this water to extinguish the wooden splints in the event they begin to burn.

A. Flame test of known solutions and known solid

4. Record the identity of a test solution on your data sheet.

5. Place a wooden splint in a test solution or solid salt for 30 seconds to ensure proper absorption of
metal ions.

6. Place the ion soaked splint into the flame.

7. Observe the corresponding color from the flame and record on your data sheet.

8. If necessary, take a new wooden splint then repeat steps 5 – 7.

9. Repeat steps 5 – 8 for the remaining solutions and solid salts.

B. Identification of an unknown solution

10. Place a wooden splint in the unknown test solution or solid salt for 30 seconds to ensure proper
absorption of metal ions.

11. Place the ion soaked splint into the flame.

12. Observe the corresponding color from the flame and record on your data sheet.

13. If necessary, take a new wooden splint then repeat steps 14-20.

14. Based on your visual observation of the flame color, speculate the identity of your unknown
solution or solid salt and record it in your data table.
Data Worksheet:

A. Flame Test of Known solutions or known solids

1. Known Barium salt #1 Symbol Ba Flame color: green

2. Known Copper salt #2 Symbol Cu Flame color: Greenish blue

3. Known Calcium salt #3 Symbol Ca Flame color: orange

4. Known Potassium salt #4 Symbol K Flame color: purple

5. Known Sodium salt #5 Symbol Na Flame color: yellowish orange

6. Known Strontium salt #6 Symbol Sv Flame color: Crimson

7. Known Lithium salt #7 Symbol Li Flame color: pink

C. Flame Test of Unknown solution

8. Unknown solution or salt Flame color: Yellowish orange

9. Speculated Identity of Unknown: Na Salt

QUESTIONS:

1. When a pan of milk boils over onto the stove, the flame turns red-orange. Explain why?

It contains Ca

2. A firework contains copper chloride and strontium sulfate. What colors will this explosive
produce?

Greenish blue and Crimson

3. What colors would you expect the following compounds to produce (they all have potassium):
Potassium chloride, Potassium nitrate, and Potassium sulfate?

Purple

4. In cooking over an open flame, a yellow flame is observed, especially when food spills over the
flame. What is responsible for the yellow flame?

The sodium

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