Flame Tests

Name: Vismaya Date: 9/10/24

Partners: Vanessa

Aim: The aim of this experiment is to measure what coloured flames are produced when different metals
are burned. This will be achieved by taking metal chlorides, putting them into flames and recording which
colour each flame turns. This experiment ties into the overarching concept of atoms because it explores
how electrons react when atoms are exposed to heat.

Dependent Variable: In this experiment, the dependent variable is the colour of the flame that is
produced.

Independent Variable: The independent variable is the type of metal chlorides burned.

Controlled Variable: The controlled variables are the environmental temperature, volume of hydrochloric
acid, amount of metal chloride and the duration of the time the metal was exposed to the flame.

Hypothesis: It is hypothesised that if different metal chlorides (independent variable) are exposed to the
flame, then the flame will produce a different coloured flame (dependent variable). This is because as
electrons get energy (such as being burned), they will move up a shell, and then go down a shell, which is
called the grounded state, however, they need a way to remove that energy, so it gets emitted in the form
of energy.

Materials:

 Safety glasses and laboratory coat  barium chloride

 Bunsen burner, heatproof mat and

matches  sodium chloride

 spray bottles  copper (III) chloride

 cobalt chloride  potassium chloride

 calcium chloride  strontium chloride

 lithium chloride  hydrochloric acid

1
  metal loop

Method:
1. Poured hydrochloric acid into a beaker, at least 1-2 fingers width
2. Poured a little bit of the metal chloride into a petri dish
3. Lit a match and turned the gas on the Bunsen burner
4. Turned on the Bunsen burner and set it on fire
5. Put the Bunsen burner on the blue flame
6. Dipped the metal loop into the hydrochloric acid to disinfect it
7. Dipped the metal loop into the metal chloride
8. Stuck the metal loop into the Bunsen burner flame
9. Recorded the colour of the flame and what type of metal chloride it was
10. Repeated steps 6-9 until all the metal chlorides were recorded
11. Did practical report

Results:

Chemical Colour of flame

Sodium Chloride Orange

Strontium Chloride Red

Lithium Chloride Red

Barium Chloride Lime green then yellow.

Calcium Chloride Orange

Potassium Chloride Fuchsia pink
Copper (III) Chloride Teal-blue with a little bit of white and
lime green as well
Cobalt Chloride Gold sparks and then turns orange.

Discussion:
1. The flame test provided evidence that electrons do occupy different energy levels. Why is
the light emitted during a flame test?

Light is emitted during a flame test because when metal ions are heated, their electrons get excited
and jump energy levels. Since they can’t stay in those shells for long, they release the energy as a
form of light as they go back to their ground state. The colour of light emitted depends on the type of
metal as each metal has a different arrangement of electrons, resulting in different energy charges.

2
 2. Do all metals produce colours in a flame? No. Some metals don’t produce colours in a flame
because the amount of thermal energy received by the electron isn’t enough for them to get into
the excited state visibly.

3. How can a flame test be used in the chemical analysis of an unknown sample?
The flame test can be used in the chemical analysis of an unknown sample since most of the metals
have different flame colours. Therefore, by putting the unknown metal and burning it, the scientists
can determine what the unknown metal is by the colour of the flame.

4. Each sample that was initially tested contained the chloride ion. How do you know the flame
colour observed was not produced by this ion?

Each sample that was initially tested contained the chloride ion, which means that it must have been
the metals that produced the light. If the chloride ion was producing the flame colour, the colours
would have been the same for each metal, but this wasn’t the case since most of the flame colours
were different.

5. Answer the following about the metal Potassium (K):

a. What was the characteristic colour produced by Potassium? The characteristic colour
produced by Potassium is meant to be purple, however, the colour that the flame had turned
was pink.
b. Give potassium electronic configuration: 2,8,8,1
c. Draw a shell diagram of potassium, showing how electrons are excited in a flame test

6. How is this experiment related to fireworks, streetlights, advertising signs and lasers?

This experiment is related to fireworks, streetlights, advertising signs and lasers because all of them
3
 involve the excitation of electrons and emission of light, which is similar to what happens in the flame
test. For example, different metals are used in different fireworks to make various colours, and some
streetlights work by exciting metal ions to emit light. Advertising signs work by passing electricity
through gases, exciting the atoms in the process, and lasers work similarly as they excite electrons in
specific materials (often crystals and gases) to higher energy levels, emitting light when they go into
ground state.

7. How could this experiment be improved to produce more accurate results? Some research may
be required.
This experiment can be improved to produce more accurate results in multiple ways. One way to
improve these results is to use a spectroscope to see the colours more clearly, if the colour is seen
differently from what it is, that means the data is false and could ruin future experiments,
furthermore, performing this experiment in a darker room would also help to improve results for
the same reason. Another way to gain more accurate results is to make sure the metals don’t have
any impurities, because if they did, then the colour of the flame would be affected and once again,
the data given to other scientists would be false.

Conclusion:
In conclusion, the aim of this experiment was achieved, as the different coloured flames were
measured based on the type of metal chloride burned. The students took the metal chlorides, put
them into flames using a metal loop and then measured what flame each colour turned. The
hypothesis was supported as the results state that most of the metal chlorides had caused the
Bunsen burner to emit different coloured flames. The results stated that sodium chloride and calcium
chloride had turned the flames into an orange colour, cobalt chloride turned the flame into gold
sparks, but it eventually changed into orange. Barium chloride turned the flame into a lime green
colour, which quickly turned yellow, whereas potassium chloride turned the flame into a fuchsia pink.
Strontium chloride and lithium chloride were both reported to have turned the flame red, however
copper (III) chloride turned the flame into a range of colours, starting with teal-blue surrounded by a
white flame, but then developing into a lime green flame.