Flame Test Lab
Flame Test Lab
Purpose:
The purpose is to observe the characteristic colors produced by certain metallic ions when
vaporized in a flame and then to identify an unknown metallic ion by means of its flame test.
Materials:
Set of metal chloride solutions (NaCl, CuCl2, KCl, CaCl2, SrCl2, LiCl, CoCl2, BaCl2)
Bunsen Burner
8 10 Q-tips
Unknown solution (for each student)
Cobalt glass plates
Safety:
Procedure:
1. Light the Bunsen burner and adjust it so that it has a hot blue flame.
2. Using a clean Q-tip, dip it into one of the solutions until it is saturated and then hold the Q-tip in
the hottest part of the burner flame. Observe the color of the flame. Try not to catch the Q-tip on
fire, because if you do, you cant reuse it to double check the color of the flame test. Carefully
record your observations in the data table. Be accurate here - your description of the color must
be accurate enough to distinguish this metal ion from the other ions tested.
3. Using a different clean unused Q-tip for each of the other solutions, check the color of their flame
tests. Record your observations for each solution. When you examine the sodium and potassium
ions, first look at their color alone, then test them again, looking through a Cobalt glass plate.
4. When you have tested all the known solutions and can distinguish the color of each metal ion,
obtain unknown solutions and determine which metal ions are present by performing a flame test
and comparing this data to your previous data.
Name ______________________________
Hour ________ Lab Station # _________
Data table:
Metal ion
Color of Flame
sodium
lithium
strontium
calcium
barium
potassium
copper
cobalt
sodium (cobalt glass)
potassium (cobalt glass)
sodium and potassium
sodium and potassium
(cobalt glass)
Unknown # ____
Unknown # ____
Questions:
4. Explain how the colors observed in the flame tests are produced.