Flame Test

By: Jasmine Whitney and Jamia Russell

Abstract
In the flame test mini lab we are using the color of the flame
to identify the name of the salt used. We should care about
this work because you can identify an element by the color of
the flame. People should care about this information because
you can identify certain salts by the color of it's flame. This
lab could not be done differently because the flame colors
were easy to identify. If you put multiple types of chloride
into a flame, then you will get a different color reaction each
time. The lab that we investigated tested the reaction of
variations of chloride and how they reacted when put into a
flame. We also did this to identify two unknown substances
that were included in the lab. Our approach for investigating
the reactions that the chloride would provide is that we had
bottles that contained each variation of chloride , we also had
multiple Bunsen burners and wooden sticks that would help
us test the reaction in the flame. The most important variable
of the flame lab was having a substantial amount of the
chemical on the wooden stick, so it would provide a
response. The answer we obtained was that each metal
symbol had it's own color. For example Lithium Chloride
had the metal symbol Li and so the flame color was
red/orange. Also there was an unknown salt and it had a
flame color of red/orange so we knew the salt to identify was
Lithium Chloride because of the flame color. This research
will provide the information needed in order to identify the
metal ions with in each chloride compound, and also doing
that identify the compound itself if it is unknown.

Objectives
The specific aims of our project were to determine what
color would appear when a certain chloride compound
was placed in a flame, we also had to identify the
compound based on the colors that were shown in the
flame. The big picture behind the flame test lab is that
when we calculated the compound we could then figure
determine the metal ions within each compound. We were
trying to access the certain color that was provided when
the compound was placed within the flame. Determining
the shade and pigmentation of the color. The goal of this
lab was to figure out the color and the metal ions in each
compound. My partner and I are interested in this type of
research because certain metal ions can be toxic and can
lead to environmental pollution.

Methods

When conducting our flame

test lab we used wooden stick
and put it into solutions. When
we took the wooden stick and
put it over a Bunsen burner
flame we were able to see the
color of the flame. When the
flame was made we recorded
the color to identify the
substance it was. Then we used
these colors to identify 3
unknown flames. For the flame
lab we used many tools which
included a Bunsen burner,
wooden sticks and each
version of the chloride
compound. We collected our
data by describing the color of
each flame that we tested. We
had to be very specific. When
describing each color because
it identified the compound that
we had inserted into the flame.
If not, we could have been
wrong when stating how each
compound reacted and which
color it was.

Results

In the following picture it shows the table we

used to express the results we found while
testing out the following salts: Sodium
Chloride, Calcium Chloride, Lithium
Chloride, Cupric Chloride, Barium Chloride,
Potassium Chloride, Strontium Chloride,
Unknown 1, Unknown 2, Unknown 3,
Mixture 1, and Mixture 3. This table also
indicates which is the Metal Symbol and the
color of the flame for each salt. We also had
to identify the formula for the unknown salts.
Then for the Mixtures we had to identify what
the color and the Metals of the Mixture.

Conclusions

The data that we collected while

conducting the flame test lab
represented what Chloride
compound or chemical was in the
solution we placed into the flame.
The implications that can come from
our lab are what colors the chloride
compounds emit when they reacted
with the flame. During the course of
our research we discovered that
there are many different kinds of
chloride compounds and that they
all react differently. Someone who
would benefit from our research
would be the people who are
looking to extract these certain
chemicals fro certain places to
prevent environmental pollution.
The next steps of the project could
be is that we test how much of each
compound would cause it to display
that color and whether that was the
amount that was dangerous or not.
During this project, Jasmine and I
learned that what we tested could
potentially be harmful to the
environment. This is important
because it can lead to a decrease in
the amount of environmental
problems in the world.