Flame Test Lab

Name_______________________________

Introduction
The normal orbit or energy level of an electron in an atom of an element is known as its
“ground state.” When atoms in the “ground state” are heated to high temperatures,
some electrons may absorb enough energy to allow them to “jump” to higher energy
levels. The element is then said to be in the “excited state.” This excited configuration
is unstable, and the electrons “fall” back to their normal positions of lower energy
(ground state). As the electrons return to their normal levels, the energy that was
absorbed is emitted in the form of electromagnetic energy. Some of this energy may be
in the form of visible light. The color of this light can be used as a means of identifying
the elements involved. Such analysis is known as a flame test.

Background
To do a flame test on a metallic element, the metal is first dissolved in a solution and the
solution is then held in the hot, blue flame of a Bunsen
burner.

As you may know metals do not dissolve easily in water,

so instead we will being using ionic compounds which
contain metals ions. Metal ions are atoms of metal that
have lost one or more electrons, such as Mg2+ which has
10 electrons or Fe3+ which has 23 electrons. The loss of
electrons gives metal ions a net positive charge. In an
ionic compound they are attracted by Coulombic forces to
non-metallic ions, such as Cl- which have a net negative charge. Ionic compounds are
commonly referred to as salts. Salts dissolve easily in water.

Once dissolved a wire loop can be used to pass the solution through a flame. Different
elements will produce different amounts of energy when the electrons return to their
ground state resulting in different wavelengths of light.

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 Flame Test Lab

Objectives
1. Observe the flame color produced by various metals.
2. Determine the identity of unknown metallic ions.

Pre-lab Exercise
1. Why do we expect different metals to produce different color flames when
burned?

2. The metal ions being tested are Na+, K+, Li+, Ba2+, Sr2+, and Ca2+. How many
electrons are in each ion?

3. Classify the following processes as physical or chemical changes:

a. Dissolving the ionic compounds in water
b. Flame testing the solutions

Materials
• Bunsen burner • Salt Solutions: NaCl, KCl, LiCl,
• 7 small beakers BaCl2, SrCl2, CaCl2
• Wood splints • goggles
• aprons

Procedure *put on googles and aprons before proceeding*

1. Light the Burner and adjust it so it has a hot blue flame.

2. Obtain a wood splint soaked in one of the solutions.

3. Hold the soaked end of the splint over the flame long enough to observe a
color change but not so long as to burn the splint (~3-5 seconds max). If your
splint catches fire, blow out the flame and place the wood splint on the table
away from any other flammable materials.

4. Repeat steps 2-3 with the remaining salt solutions.

5. Fill in the data table with your observations for color and use the attached
color spectrum to estimate the wavelength and energy of each color

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 DATA TABLE

Metal Flame Color Wavelength (nm) Energy (eV)

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 Analysis Questions

1. Estimate the wavelength and energy for each of the tested metal ions. Record
those estimates in the data table.

2. Some commercially available fireplace logs burn with a red and/or green flame.
On the basis of your data, what elements could be responsible for these colored
flames?

3. Aerial fireworks contain gunpowder and chemicals that produce colors. What
elements would you include to produce the following colors? Explain your
reasoning.

a. Crimson red

b. Yellow

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