Flame Test Lab Conclusion

In our flame test experiment, we covered Q-tips in crystals of different elements and

then placed them on a Bunsen Burner to identify the flame color of each element. The

elements were in their ground states when they were on the Q-tip. However, when the

Q-tips were placed on the Bunsen Burner flame, the elements went into excited states

and then returned to their ground states. This process continued until the Q-tips were

removed from the bunsen burner flame. When the elements went into excited states,

they absorbed energy, which caused their electrons to go to higher energy levels

(shells). When the elements returned to their ground states, they released energy in

the form of photons (light energy), which caused the Bunsen Burner flame to reflect

different colors of light. For example, Potassium Nitrate had a flame color of light purple

while Lithium Nitrate had a flame color of red. This connects back to photons, which

have both wavelengths and frequencies. Each color has a different wavelength with

violets having the shortest wavelengths and reds having the longest wavelengths. This

corresponds to the energy that colors of light have with violets having the highest

amount of energy and reds having the lowest amount of energy. The amount of energy

that is released by electrons depends on the frequency of photons because higher

frequencies result in more energy for electrons to release while lower frequencies result

in the opposite.