Mohammed Sabir Ali

Chemical test for Anions and Cations

Qualitative chemical analysis

Qualitative analysis is about finding out the presence of the substance and not the
quantity of the substance. It is to separate and detect the cations and anions in a sample.
Identifying the materials if there are any new compounds or impurities in a sample e.g. to
check the presence of any particular metal ion in a sample water of a polluted river. This
method can be used by forensic scientist to identify the components from a sample of soil
from a crime scene and a sample from the suspect’s shoes. In some cases it is needed
only to verify the presence of the certain elements or groups which specific test can be
made direct to the substance e.g. flame test.

Sodium chloride
Test for chloride Test for sodium
Metal ion Non- sliver nitrate and flame test. If the
+ve metal ion hydrochloric acid flame is yellow the
charge –ve White precipitate presence metal is
cations charge (+ve) sodium.
anions

Quantitative chemical analysis

Quantitative analysis is a process in analytical chemistry that involves measurement of

results such as quantities of substances produced. All quantitative analysis involves
counting or measurement in some mannerQuantitative chemical analysis is about the
quantity of the chemical in the substance. For example, chemists might want to know the
exact composition of some new compound that has been discovered.

Task

Our task was to find out the substance that was in the soil so we have to do some
chemical test to find out the substance that is causing this, the experiments we are going
carry out are testing for carbonate, testing for sulphate and flame tests.

Problems

The problems to overcome are not to use the entire sample at once because the
experiment might go wrong so use a bit by bit.
Mohammed Sabir Ali

Safety

Always wear goggles

Always wear lab coats
Always wear gloves
Do not play with the acids

Acids

Sodium hydroxide – corrosive

Hydrochloric acid – corrosive
Barium chloride - corrosive

Limitation

The limitation for qualitative analysis is that if using Cations, is that more then one
Cation can give the same colour so therefore further tests are needed to complete the
experiment.

A problem with flame test is that the Hydrochloric acid can get contaminated by using
the same nichrome wire to overcome this problem you can use a new nichrome wire for
each substance.

Sample preparations

Get a chronicle flask

Dilute water
Test tube
Filtering paper
Sample
Test tube rack

Method

 Get a chronicle flask

 Add the sample to the chronicle flask
 Add 100ml of distilled water to the sample
 Stir the sample
Mohammed Sabir Ali

 Get and test tube

 Filter the sample into the test tube

Label and leave the sample for further experiment, testing for carbonate.

Filtering
Chronicle the sample
flask with into a test
sample tube

The filtered sample in a test tube and labelled

Chronicle flask with sample and 100ml distilled water

Testing for anions

Testing for carbonate

Task

Now we are going to use the filtered sample to test for carbonate the experiment we are
going to do is called Testing for carbonate, sulphate and sulphide and halogen test.

Experiment

Get the sample of the substance use only a small amount of it. Add to the substance dilute
hydrochloric acid and then add drop of barium chloride to a solution of substance. If the
substance gives off gas that means the solution is carbonate +ve.
Mohammed Sabir Ali

Results

There was no gas given off that mean there is no carbonate +ve in the substance.

Sulphate and Sulphide Test

Experiment

Now we are going to test for sulphate and sulphide. First of all we added barium chloride
(Ba2+) to the sample only couple of drops and followed by couple of drops of
hydrochloric acid.

Results

We found out that it formed white precipitate at the bottom of the test tube. We think this
is sulpahte so to make sure its sulphate we will do a halogen test.

Halogen test
Experiment

Last of all for the anions test we are going to do the halogen test which we added couple
of drops of nitric acid and followed by couple of drops of sliver nitric.

Results

There was no white precipitate formed at the bottom of the test tube so we can say it
wasn’t a halogen and it was sulpahte in farmer Fred’s soil.
Mohammed Sabir Ali

Testing for cations

Flame test
Task

This is the next part and we are going to test for cations. We are going to use the filtered
sample to test for copper. These are the test we are going to do flame test and sodium
hydroxide.

Experiment

The first test we did was the flame test. We got a nichrome wire and heated to make sure
there is no other chemical or substance on it. Then we dipped it in hydrochloric acid to
decontaminate the wire. We then dipped the wire in the sample and put it under the
Bunsen burner flame.

Results

We found out that the flame turned green which means it is copper. Now we have to do
further test to make sure the sample is copper (Cu2+). Sometimes other ions can have the
same colour therefore we will do the sodium hydroxide test to make sure its copper.

Sodium hydroxide test

Experiment

The last test we are going to for the cations is the sodium hydroxide test (NaOH). We add
several drops of sodium hydroxide to the sample.

Results

The sample formed a pale blue precipitate jelly like substance which means it is copper.
Now we can confirm it was copper and sulpahte means farmer Fred was right which he
thought it was copper sulphate (CuSO4).

Conclusion

From the results we obtained we can say that farmer Fred’s prediction was right which he
said it was copper sulpahte. The anions test showed us that it wasn’t a carbonate because
it dint give of gas and wasn’t a halogen. The sulpahte and sulphide showed that it was
sulpahte which formed white precipitate at the bottom of the test tube. Then we the
cations test which showed us that it was copper. The flame test gave a green flame which
shows it is copper and to make sure it was we did a sodium hydroxide test which also
showed the presence of the copper by forming a pale blue jelly like substance at the
bottom of the test tube.
Mohammed Sabir Ali

Evaluation

This investigation went well for me and enjoyed doing. We had to do a lot of test to come
find the end result and which we did. I was happy with the result because it’s the best we
can archive because the equipment was not the best. We could have done more anions
test because there could be other thing we don’t know.