This is my Digital Lab Notebook where I will post my Chemistry notes.
We were given a task where we had to organize many of the elements of the Periodic Table. First we answered the Pre-Lab Question, then we received about 15 elements in an envelope and had to organize them as we saw best. Once we had organized those elements, we moved on to another envelope with 2 more elements in it. Once we had those put in place, we received the last envelope which consisted of 5 more elements. We then, answered the last 2 sets of Questions: Post-Lab and Extension Questions, comparing our periodic table with the one we had today.
Here are the questions:
We were given a task where we had to organize many of the elements of the Periodic Table. First we answered the Pre-Lab Question, then we received about 15 elements in an envelope and had to organize them as we saw best. Once we had organized those elements, we moved on to another envelope with 2 more elements in it. Once we had those put in place, we received the last envelope which consisted of 5 more elements. We then, answered the last 2 sets of Questions: Post-Lab and Extension Questions, comparing our periodic table with the one we had today.
Here are the questions:
Flame Test
Name: Emily Shaffer
Partner Name: Lucerito Lopez
Date: October 8 2013
Title: Flame Test
Purpose: To look at the colors of the flame to understand the amount of energy being emitted. To recognize the unknown sample compounds, by comparing observations of the unknowns to already known compounds.
Procedure: Partner 1 will go and get the chemical that is placed on the watch glass. Partner 2 will handle the methanol, using the dropper and dropping 5 drops of methanol on the chemical on the watch glass. After Partner 2 stirs the compound with the glass stir rod, Partner 1 will ignite the compound with a match, then dropping the blown out match in a glass container. Both partners record their observations of the compound before the methanol was added, after in was added, while it was on fire and after it was on fire. They will repeat this process until they've gone through igniting all the chemical compounds.
Pre-Lab Questions:
Compound Name Formula Observation Before Observation After/ Flame Color
Methanol
clearbluish/purple on top, orange/red on bottom, transparent
Lithium Chloride LiClWhite powderbubbling on edges blue/red, pink plate has powder on it
Copper Chloride CuCl2turquoise powder tiny part in methanol is green, turns, green with liquid (liquid and powder) starts as green, specks, of orange, white spots on bottom, vibrant green, bubbling on edge, goes in green and brown rings of powder
Calcium Chloride CaClWhite chunky flat broken pieces of powder starting to dissolve, spreading out turned blue and orange, then more orange, bubbled on edges of flame, left chalky powder residue, left powder in middle
Sodium Chloride CaCl tiny white crystals blue and orange, very orange (slightly blue), left crystal residue, no bubbles
Calcium Carbonate CaCO white clumpy powder, looks like baking powder/soda, when dissolved not clumpy faint blue/purple, fairly transparent, some orange parts, left white chalky residue
Magnesium Sulfate MgSO clear crystals, rectangle chunks, (slightly white), with liquid, turned transparent transparent blue, some slight orange, bubbles on edge, left crystals residue
Potassium Chloride KCl white powder, smaller crystals blue, mostly orange, no bubbles, crystal residue
Borax NaCO white small powder (baking powder/soda), dissolving with methanol blue/green with a little orange, mostly green and orange, as flame got to powder, powder stood up
Copper Sulfate CuSO4 transparent blue liquid, diluted with methanol, when stir with stick, makes mark on plate, turned into powder blue and orange (very faint), turned blue and green powder going towards middle, then goes away
Cream of Tartar KCHO White powder (baking soda/powder), dilutes with liquid blue, orange (faint), left white chalky layer
Unknown 1
(Calcium Chloride) ? white powder (baking soda/powder), diluting slightly with liquid, slightly chunky blue and orange, mainly orange, bubbles around edge, left chunky white powder
Unknown 2
(Borax) ? Crystal white (salt?)orange with green, mainly orange, slightly bubbling, powder starts standing up
Conclusion: At first when our teacher started explaining the procedure to us and we started preparing for the lab, I wasn't super excited about conducting the flame test. I thought that is was going to be super tedious and would have to be really careful going about the lab. I am not a very organized person and can be very clumsy and messy and not not very orderly. As we started conducting the flame test and igniting compounds, it was really amazing how one compound would start out one way and with a little fire could be something totally different. I thought it was awesome to experience something like that. Though you may have to really focus on the details, you can discover something really truly incredible. I really like this idea of trying new things and see if it'll will work. To be really curious and go and try a world full of experiments and possibilities.
Discussion Theory: During this lab, on of our main focuses were relating the test to the magnetic spectrum, how did they connect to each other? In some ways the answer can seem obvious: The colors of the flame are like the colors of the spectrum. Yes, that is part of the answer but not all. What causes that energy, what does it mean that the compounds burn that certain color. Each color on the spectrum is directly proportional to the amount of energy it gives off. What that means is that when the compound is heating up, through the fire it is gaining energy. In order for the compound to get back to its ground state, or the original amount of energy, it must somehow get rid of that energy. The element does this in the form of light or a flame. You can tell the amount of energy that flame is giving off by the color of the flame. If it is violet is is giving off a lot of energy, if it's red it isn't giving off much energy. The electromagnetic spectrum explains and shows all of this: violet being the highest energy and red being the lowest.
I think that the purpose was fulfilled. I feel that we/I have a better understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum. I now have a better connection to it and can visualize it. I have a better idea of how it is relevant and connects to me. I now have something to reference when dealing with this topic of the electromagnetic spectrum. Yes, the experiment did work in that I have the correct unknowns. I for the first unknown I thought that it was Calcium Chloride for a variety of reasons: first being that before we light it on fire, both the unknown #1 and Calcium Chloride were white powders and dissolved when stirred with the methanol. Another reason is that they both burned the same color, starting as blue and orange then being mainly orange. The reason that really "sealed the deal" was that they both bubbled around the edge of the flame, which only 1 other compound did but it didn't fit the description of the unknown #1. For the unknown #2 my partner and came to the conclusion that it was Borax. They were both white powder/crystals. When light they both started out by burning a orange green light, then mainly orange. What I think really confirmed our guesstimates was that as the flame came towards the actual powder, the powder started standing up for both of them, which no other compound did. We were correct in our thoughts for the unknowns.
Post-Lab Questions:
Name: Emily Shaffer
Partner Name: Lucerito Lopez
Date: October 8 2013
Title: Flame Test
Purpose: To look at the colors of the flame to understand the amount of energy being emitted. To recognize the unknown sample compounds, by comparing observations of the unknowns to already known compounds.
Procedure: Partner 1 will go and get the chemical that is placed on the watch glass. Partner 2 will handle the methanol, using the dropper and dropping 5 drops of methanol on the chemical on the watch glass. After Partner 2 stirs the compound with the glass stir rod, Partner 1 will ignite the compound with a match, then dropping the blown out match in a glass container. Both partners record their observations of the compound before the methanol was added, after in was added, while it was on fire and after it was on fire. They will repeat this process until they've gone through igniting all the chemical compounds.
Pre-Lab Questions:
- What color of light is the lowest in energy? Red
- What color of light is the highest in energy? Violet
- What color of light is the highest frequency? Violet
- What color of light is the lowest frequency? Red
- How are electrons “excited”? When impacted by quanta of energy usually photons (laser of neon lights). (Quanta- required or allowed amount, discrete quantity of energy, proportional to magnitude of frequency of radiation represented.) Absorbs energy, one way is through heat.
- What does it mean when the electrons are “excited”? An electron in an atom that has absorbed some energy which has put it into a higher energy state, an excited electron will usually decay back to its resting lever and release of a packet of energy (a photon.) (Photon- particle representing a quantum light or other electromagnetic radiation.
- If you test 2 solutions and find that they both produce a red flame, how can you determine for sure whether they contain the same metal? Look at both solutions through a diffraction grating (plate of glass or metal ruled with very close parallel lines producing a spectrum by diffraction and interference of light.), distinguish between separate lines in spectrum. Or check what they look like before, if it bubbles, or what it looks like afterwards (residue).
- In your own words, write a short explanation of how an electron absorbs energy and re-emits it as light and why different elements have different spectra. The electrons in atoms have a specific amount of energy in each, not all are the same. Atoms get more electrons by heating through fire, hot metal or starts. Then the energy level of the electron gets higher. Next, it'll go back down in energy and release energy as a photon. The photon's energy is the same as the difference between the electron's energy of the first energy level and the new levelenrgy. Each elements have different spectra because every spectra lines are at separate wavelengths of light and the light energy relies on the wavelength, so every line is caused by the specific energy light. Also the different elements create different spectra's because they're put near heat and a color or line of spectra is shown/given off by it.
Compound Name Formula Observation Before Observation After/ Flame Color
Methanol
clearbluish/purple on top, orange/red on bottom, transparent
Lithium Chloride LiClWhite powderbubbling on edges blue/red, pink plate has powder on it
Copper Chloride CuCl2turquoise powder tiny part in methanol is green, turns, green with liquid (liquid and powder) starts as green, specks, of orange, white spots on bottom, vibrant green, bubbling on edge, goes in green and brown rings of powder
Calcium Chloride CaClWhite chunky flat broken pieces of powder starting to dissolve, spreading out turned blue and orange, then more orange, bubbled on edges of flame, left chalky powder residue, left powder in middle
Sodium Chloride CaCl tiny white crystals blue and orange, very orange (slightly blue), left crystal residue, no bubbles
Calcium Carbonate CaCO white clumpy powder, looks like baking powder/soda, when dissolved not clumpy faint blue/purple, fairly transparent, some orange parts, left white chalky residue
Magnesium Sulfate MgSO clear crystals, rectangle chunks, (slightly white), with liquid, turned transparent transparent blue, some slight orange, bubbles on edge, left crystals residue
Potassium Chloride KCl white powder, smaller crystals blue, mostly orange, no bubbles, crystal residue
Borax NaCO white small powder (baking powder/soda), dissolving with methanol blue/green with a little orange, mostly green and orange, as flame got to powder, powder stood up
Copper Sulfate CuSO4 transparent blue liquid, diluted with methanol, when stir with stick, makes mark on plate, turned into powder blue and orange (very faint), turned blue and green powder going towards middle, then goes away
Cream of Tartar KCHO White powder (baking soda/powder), dilutes with liquid blue, orange (faint), left white chalky layer
Unknown 1
(Calcium Chloride) ? white powder (baking soda/powder), diluting slightly with liquid, slightly chunky blue and orange, mainly orange, bubbles around edge, left chunky white powder
Unknown 2
(Borax) ? Crystal white (salt?)orange with green, mainly orange, slightly bubbling, powder starts standing up
Conclusion: At first when our teacher started explaining the procedure to us and we started preparing for the lab, I wasn't super excited about conducting the flame test. I thought that is was going to be super tedious and would have to be really careful going about the lab. I am not a very organized person and can be very clumsy and messy and not not very orderly. As we started conducting the flame test and igniting compounds, it was really amazing how one compound would start out one way and with a little fire could be something totally different. I thought it was awesome to experience something like that. Though you may have to really focus on the details, you can discover something really truly incredible. I really like this idea of trying new things and see if it'll will work. To be really curious and go and try a world full of experiments and possibilities.
Discussion Theory: During this lab, on of our main focuses were relating the test to the magnetic spectrum, how did they connect to each other? In some ways the answer can seem obvious: The colors of the flame are like the colors of the spectrum. Yes, that is part of the answer but not all. What causes that energy, what does it mean that the compounds burn that certain color. Each color on the spectrum is directly proportional to the amount of energy it gives off. What that means is that when the compound is heating up, through the fire it is gaining energy. In order for the compound to get back to its ground state, or the original amount of energy, it must somehow get rid of that energy. The element does this in the form of light or a flame. You can tell the amount of energy that flame is giving off by the color of the flame. If it is violet is is giving off a lot of energy, if it's red it isn't giving off much energy. The electromagnetic spectrum explains and shows all of this: violet being the highest energy and red being the lowest.
I think that the purpose was fulfilled. I feel that we/I have a better understanding of the electromagnetic spectrum. I now have a better connection to it and can visualize it. I have a better idea of how it is relevant and connects to me. I now have something to reference when dealing with this topic of the electromagnetic spectrum. Yes, the experiment did work in that I have the correct unknowns. I for the first unknown I thought that it was Calcium Chloride for a variety of reasons: first being that before we light it on fire, both the unknown #1 and Calcium Chloride were white powders and dissolved when stirred with the methanol. Another reason is that they both burned the same color, starting as blue and orange then being mainly orange. The reason that really "sealed the deal" was that they both bubbled around the edge of the flame, which only 1 other compound did but it didn't fit the description of the unknown #1. For the unknown #2 my partner and came to the conclusion that it was Borax. They were both white powder/crystals. When light they both started out by burning a orange green light, then mainly orange. What I think really confirmed our guesstimates was that as the flame came towards the actual powder, the powder started standing up for both of them, which no other compound did. We were correct in our thoughts for the unknowns.
Post-Lab Questions:
- Why is it important to test the flame color of the methanol without any compounds dissolved in it? So you can understand the effect of the methanol and what the chemical's flame would like without the methanol. It gives you ideas as to why the chemical came out the way it did.
- List the colors observed in this lab from highest energy to lowest energy. Purple, pink, red, orange, green, blue.
- List the colors observed in this lab from highest frequency to lowest frequency. Purple, pink, red, orange, green, blue.
- List the colors observed in this lab from shortest wavelength to longest wavelength. Blue, green, orange, red, pink, purple.
- What is the relationship between energy, frequency and wavelength? The relationship between energy and frequency is that they are equal, but the more energy and frequency, the smaller wavelengths.
- Based on the results of your experiments, what metal was found in your unknowns? Explain. My partner and I came to the conclusion that Unknown #1 was Calcium Chloride. We thought this because in their original state of a powder they were both white powder. And that the flame color of both was a bluish orange, that then turned mainly orange. But, several of our compounds had the same flame, what really confirmed our thoughts was that both compounds bubbled around the edges, and that they both left white powder in the middle of the plate.
For the Unknown #2, we thought it was Borax. They started out some what similarly as a white powder, they weren't identical. The flames however more very similar, being orange and green. The characteristic of them both that really stood out to me was that as the flame got closer to the actual powder, the powder began standing up. None of the other compounds did this. - Do you think we can use the flame test to determine the identity of unknowns in a mixture? Why or why not? Yes, you could compare the color of the unknown's flame to the same color of a known compound. You can also compare other characteristics such as if the compound bubbles or the residue it leaves or what it looks like before it's set on fire.
- Why do different chemicals emit different colors of light? They all have different wavelengths and amounts of energy/frequency. Each chemical has a different amount of electrons. As the chemical is heated the electrons get more energy. Then when the energy level goes back to its ground state, it emits energy in the form of a flame.
- Why do you think the chemicals have to be heated in the flame first before the colored light is emitted? Like I mentioned before, when the chemical is heated the energy of the electrons rise. Then to get back to its ground state it must get rid of energy. It does this in the form of flames.
- Most salts contain a metal and a non-metal. Look at the compounds we tested and explain how we can be sure that it is the metal atoms that are responsible for the colors that you see. As I was observing our data, all compounds that had Chloride in them, were typically blue and mostly orange. Methanol burns bluish purple on top and red-ish orange on the bottom. Therefore it could be the methanol that we are seeing burn, that maybe the metal and nonmetal in the compound didn't cause the color of the flame. Honestly, I'm somewhat unsure what exactly caused the flame to burn that particular color, it could've been the nonmetal: Chloride. Each compound that had it burned the same color. Yet, Borax (NaCO) and Copper Chloride (CuCl2) burns the same color of green and they don't have a metal or nonmetal in common. I can't confirm that the metal, nonmetal or methanol caused the flame color.
- Colorful light emissions are applicable to everyday life. Where else have you observed colorful light emissions? Are these light emission applications related? Explain. Fluorescent lights- the whiter the light, the higher the temperature, the bluer the light, the color the temperature. Fireworks- red, orange, gold, yellow, electric white, green, blue, purple, silver. Red, orange, yellow becomes hotter and hotter, white being hottest. These are related because the whiter they get the hotter they get. I find this interesting because that's not exactly how the electromagnetic spectrum works. Violet light has the most energy, therefore the "hotter" light, and red, who has the least amount of energy is the "coolest". Here It is the blue that's the cooler, opposite of the electromagnetic spectrum. Red in the spectrum is the coolest, yet in fireworks and fluorescences it's one of the hottest.
- Can you think of a way in which to use the flame test? Please describe below.There are many things that if it is burning you can see what caused it or what is burning. A house for example. If a house is on in fire and the flame is pink, then we could take an educated guess that Lithium Chloride is burning. We could use this flame test for meteors as well. Observing the flame, you could get and idea of what the meteor is made of and maybe even where is came from. As mentioned above, you can use this test for fireworks. Depending on the colors you desire, you can search for compounds what burn that particular color.
Paint Binders Observations
In Chemistry, we have been going over and learning about the ceince in art. In that we have learned about the chemical contain of paitn and even hw to make paint using solutes, solvents and pigments.
At our tables, each student mixed and made a different kind of paint than the rest of the students and the table. There were 4 types of paint that each talbe made: Acrylic, Cassein, Egg Tempera, and Oil.