Flame Test Experiment:
Purpose: To demonstrate and classify the characteristics of a chemical reaction.
Objective: Describe the difference between a physical and chemical change.
Data Table:
Analysis Questions:
1.) What indicators (at least 3) determine that a chemical
change (or reaction) has occurred? Indicators such
as color change, the formation of a gas, participate, or solid, and the
creation of a new substance determine that a chemical change/ reaction has
occurred. For example, iron and oxygen combine to form iron oxide, commonly
referred to as rust.
2.) What is emitted when a chemical change takes place in
the flame test? As a result of the flame test,
light is emitted following the chemical change. When metal elements are heated
their electrons enhance to a higher energy level. After returning to a lower
energy level, they also produce wave lengths. They then correlate to a color in
the emission spectrum, which results in the color emitted during the heating of
the atoms.
3.) What group, from the periodic table, do these elements
exist? The elements used are a part of the alkali
metals (Lithium, potassium,and sodium)and alkali earth metals (Calcium, strontium,and barium).A similarity of the groups is that the reducing properties
increase as you go down the group. One difference
of the metals being that alkali metals have a single election in their outer
shell, while alkaline earth metals have 2 electrons in their outer shell. Furthermore, aluminum is a part of the boron group.
4.) Do any two elements give the same spectrum of color?
Explain why? The spectrum of color is based on electron
arrangement, and location with the atom. When compounds of similar chemical
properties combine, it produces similar colors of flame, which insulates that
they would also be found in the same area of the periodic table. However many compounds
produce different spectrum's of colors. The elements have differing arrangements/location
of electrons, which determines the amount of energy. While electrons jump to
different energy levels, it emits energy, which is then released in the form of
colored light. As a result, differential elements would emit a variation of
colors of light. The distinctions would be beneficial to an analyzer, because
it could be used to properly identify the chemical properties of that compound.
5.) Recall what a catalyst is in a chemical reaction. What was the catalyst in these reactions? In regards to chemical reactions, catalyst are substances
that speed up a reaction. Following the reaction, it is chemically unchanged.
Therefore, at the end you would have exactly the same mass of the catalyst as
you had at the beginning. In the numerous test, heat was the catalyst. Heat caused
the electrons to change energy state, which resulted in light.
Critical Thinking:
The data gather through the means
of the flame test demonstration could be successfully utilized to solve crimes
or convict criminals. Forensic Science is the application of science to law in
events subject to criminal or civil litigation and includes a number of
different technical fields, including physics, chemistry, biology, engineering,
psychology, and medicine. Such field uses
flame as one of its methods in solving crime. Flame tests allows scientist, for
example, an analytical chemist, to distinguish the particular substances that compensate
a given sample. Through conducting flame
test on the victim’s blood, the results would inform us if the victim was poisoned.
Therefore, if it emitted a flame color
found only on toxic elements or compounds we could infer that it was Barium.
Works Cited:
"Chem Tips." Chem Tips. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. <http://www3.ul.ie/~childsp/CinA/Issue63/TOC25_FlameTest.htm>.
"Flame Test Part 2." Flame Test Part 2. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. <http://www.slideshare.net/petrovus/flame-test-part-2>.
"Flame Tests | Causes of Color." Flame Tests | Causes of Color. Webexhibits.org, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013. <http://www.webexhibits.org/causesofcolor/3BA.html>.