Qualitative Analysis Viva Questions With Answers

Viva Questions with Answers

Question.1.What is qualitative analysis?

Answer. The type of analysis that deals with the methods which are used to determine
the constituents of a compound.

Question.2.What is a radical?
Answer. A radical may be defined as an atom or group of atoms which carries charge
and behaves as a single unit in chemical reactions.

Question.3. What are acidic and basic radicals?

Answer. Radicals carrying positive charge are called basic radicals and those carrying
negative charge are called acidic radicals.

Question.4. What type of bond is present in an inorganic salt?

Answer. Electrovalent bond.

Question.5. Why do inorganic salt ionise when dissolved in water?

Answer. Due to the high dielectric constant of water, the force of attraction holding the
two ions in a salt decreases. Thus, the two ions separate. The ions are ‘further
Stabilized by solvation.

Question.6. Name the coloured basic radicals.

Answer. Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Cr3+, Ni2+, Co2+ and Mn2+.

Question.7. What is the colour of iron salts?

Answer. Ferrous salts are usually light green while ferric salts are generally brown.

Question.8. Name any iron salt which is light green.

Answer. Ferrous sulphate.

Question.9. What is the colour of nickel salts’?

Answer. Bluish green or green.

Question.10. What is the colour of manganese salts?

Answer. Light pink or flesh colour.

Question.11. Name the basic radicals which are absent, if the given salt is white.
Answer. Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Cr3+, Ni2+, Co2+ and Mn2+.

Question.12. Why a salt containing lead turn black in colour, when placed fora
long time in laboratory?

Answer. Due to the formation of black lead-sulphide by the action of H2S in

atmosphere

Question.13. Name the salts which produce crackling sound when heated.
Answer. Lead nitrate, barium nitrate, potassium bromide, sodium chloride
Question.14. What is sublimation?
Answer. |f is the process by which a Salt directly changes into gaseous phase without
melting, when heated. On cooling vapours condense back to the solid state.

Question.15. Tell the importance of preliminary tests in qualitative analysis.

Answer. Sometimes, preliminary tests give authentic information about an jon in the
salt. For example, golden yellow colour in flame test shows the presence of sodium. In a
charcoal cavity test, brown residue shows the presence of cadmium in a Salt and so on.

Question.16. How is dry heating test performed and what information you get if
the residue changes to yellow when hot?

Answer. In dry heating test, the salt is heated in a dry test tube. Yellow residue when
hot shows the presence of zinc.

Question.17. What is the expected information when copper sulphate is heated in

a dry test tube?

Answer. A white residue is formed and water condenses on the colder wails of the test
tube.

Question.18. Name the radical which produces CO. on heating.

Answer. Carbonate.

Question.19. What is the colour of residue when zinc salt is heated?

Answer. A residue yellow when hot and white when cold is formed.

Question.20. What is the colour of residue when cadmium salt is heated?

Answer. A residue brown when hot, brown when cold.

Question.21. If the residue in dry heating test is white, name'the radicals which
are absent.
Anawer. Cu2+, Fe2+, Ni2+, Mn2+ ,Co2+, Cr3+, Cd2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+

Question.22. How is charcoal cavity test performed? Describe the chemistry for
the formation of incrustation as well as metallic bead.
Answer. The salt is mixed with the double the quantity of sodium carbonate and the
mixture is heated in the charcoal cavity in luminous flame (reducing flame).

Pb(NO3)2 + Na2CO3 —> PbCO3 + 2NaNO3

PbcO3—> CO2 + PbO (Brown-hot) (incrustation)

PbO+C—> Pb + C (gas)

Question.23. Which flame is used in charcoal cavity test? How is it obtained?

Answer. A reducing flame is used in charcoal cavity test. It is obtained by closing the air
holes of the Bunsen burner.

Question.24. Why should we avoid excess of cobalt nitrate in cobalt nitrate test?
Answer. Excess of cobalt nitrate is avoided because it forms black cobalt oxide in the
oxidising flame. This colour masks the other colours which might be produced during
the test.
Question.25. In the flame test, sodium imparts yellow colour to the flame while
magnesium does not impart any colour. Why?
Answer. In case of magnesium, the energy of flame is unable to promote the electron
to higher energy level, hence, no colour is imparted to the fame.

Question.26. What is the chemistry of flame test.

Answer. In flame test, the valence electron of the atom gets excited and jumps to the
higher level. When the electron jumps back to the ground state, the radiation is emitted
whose frequency falls in the visible region.

Question.27. What is the function of blue glass in flame test?

Answer. The blue glass can absorb a part or whole of the coloured light in certain
cases. Therefore, the flame appears to be of different colour when viewed through blue
glass. This helps in identification of some basic radicals.

Question.28. Why do we use cone. HCI in preparing a paste of the salt for flame
test?
Answer. In order to convert metal Salts into metal chlorides which are more volatile than
other salts.

Question.29. Why can't we use glass rod instead of platinum wire for performing
flame test?
Answer. This is because glass contains sodium silicate which imparts its own golden
yellow colour to the flame.

Question.30. Why is platinum metal preferred to other metals for flame test?
Answer. Because platinum does not react with acids and does not itself impart any
characteristic colour to the flame.

Question.31. Why do barium salts not impart colour to the flame immediately?
Answer. Because barium chloride is less volatile, it imparts colour to the flame after
some time.

Question.32. Why should we avoid the use of platinum wire for testing lead salts?
Answer. Because lead combines with platinum and the wire gets corroded.

Question.33. Why should only a particle or two of the given salt should be
touched with the bead in borax bead test?
Answer. If salt is used in excess an opaque bead is formed.

Question.34. Why borax bead test is not applicable in case of white salts?
Answer. White salts do not form coloured meta-borates. .

Question.35. What is Nessler's Reagent?

Answer. Il is a solubon of mercuric iodide in potassium iodide. Its formula is K2{HgI4.].

Question.36. Name the acid radicals detected with dil. H2SO4?

Answer.

(CO3)2-, S2-, (S03)2-,NO2-

Question.37. Why dil. H2S04 is preferred while testing acid radicals over dil. HCI ?
Answer. When the salt is treated with HCI, during reaction HCl gas is also given out
along with the gas evolved by the salt. So the actual gas cannot be identified whereas
with H2SO4, no such problem arises.

Question.38. Name the acid radicals detected by conc. H2SO4,.

Answer.Cl-, Br-, I-, (NO3)-, CH3COO-, (C2O4)2-.

Question.39. Name the radicals which are tested with the help of water extract.
Answer. (NO3)-, (NO2)- and CH3COO- .

Question.40. Name the radicals which are confirmed with the help of sodium
carbonate extract.
Answer.S2-, Cl-, Br-, I-, (PO4)3-, (SO4)2-, (SO3)2-, (C2O4)2-

Question.41. How is sodium carbonate extract prepared?

Answer. The salt is mixed with double the amount of solid Na2CO3 and about 20 ml of
distilled water. It is then boiled till it is reduced to one-third, and then filtered. The filtrate
is sodium carbonate extract or (S.E.).

Question.42. What is water extract?

Answer. The given Salt or mixture is shaken well with distilled water and the solution is
filtered. The filtrate is water extract.

Question.43. CO2 and SO2 both turn lime water milky. How will you distinguish
between them?

Answer. By passing through acidified K2Cr207 solution. SO2 turns green while CO2 has
no effect.

Question.44. NO2 and Br2 both are brown in colour. How will you distinguish
between them?
Answer. By passing through FeSO4 solution. NO2 turns FeSO4 soln. black while Br2 has
no effect.

Question.45. How will you test the presence of carbonate?

Answer. Treat a small quantity of the mixture with dil. H2SO4, CO2 gas is evolved. When
the gas is passed through lime water, it is turned milky.

Na2CO3 + 2HCl —» 2NaCl + H2O + CO2

Question.46. What is lime water?

Answer. A solution of Ca(OH)2 in water is called lime water.

Question.47. What will happen if excess of CO2 is passed through lime water?
Answer. The white ppt. of CaCO3 changes into soluble calcium bicarbonate and the
milkiness, therefore, disappears.

CaCO3 + CO2 + H2O—> Ca(HCO3)2.

Question.48. How do you test for sulphide?

Answer. Warm the salt with dil. H2SO4 , H2S gas is evolved. It turns a paper dipped in
lead acetate black

Na2S + 2HCl —> 2NaCl + H2S

Pb(CH3COO)2 + H2S—> PbS + 2CH3COOH.

Question.49. Is there any gas other than CO2 which turns lime water milky?
Answer. Yes. it is SO2 gas

Question.50. All nitrates on heating with conc. H2SO4 in presence of paper pallet
evolve NO2 gas. What is the function of paper pallet?
Answer.

Paper pallet (carbon) reduces HNO3 to NO2

KNO3 + H2SO4—> KHSO4 + HNO3
4HNO3 + C —> 2H20 + 4NO2 + CO2-.

Question.51. How will you test whether the given solution in a bottle is lime
water?

Answer. Take 2 ml of the solution in a test tube and blow into it by means of a glass
tubing. Milkiness indicates that the solution is lime water.

Question.52. How is ring test performed for nitrates?

Answer. To the salt solution, freshly prepared ferrous sulphate solution is added and
then sulphunc acid (conc.) is added along the walls of the tube. A dark brown ring is
formed at the junction of the two solutions.

Question.53. Why the hot reaction mixture in case of conc. H2SO4 ( test is not
thrown into the sink?

Answer. In order to avoid spurting, due to which H2SO4 may fly and spoil clothes and
may result into serious injuries.

Question.54. What is Tollen's reagent?

Answer. Ammonical AgNO2 solution is called Tollen's reagent.

Question.55. Give formula of Diphenylamine reagent.

Answer. (C6H5)2 NH.

Question.56. Why a dark brown ring is formed at the junction of two layers in ring
test for nitrates?

Answer. H2SO4 being heavier forms the lower layer and reacts only with a small amount
of nitrate and FeSO4. at its surface, therefore, a brown ring appears only at the junction
of the two layers.

Question.57. Why acetic acid is added betore adding lead acetate solution?
Answer. In order to prevent the hydrolysis of lead acetate which would yield white
precipitate of lead hydroxide.

Question.58. What is the formula of Sodium nitroprusside?

Answer. Na2 [Fe(CN)5 NO].2H2O