mini-lab: Identify Compounds _ Lawton Corrigan

Today in Mr. Wong's chemistry class we got to try and figure out what substances we were burning based on the color of the flame, here are my guesses and pictures:

After these elements were burned, we were asked to analyze the colors and attempt to identify the element. Here is what we thought:

Substance #1 when heated showed a orange greenish flame at first, which turned into a bluish green flame after a few seconds. 

Substance #2 above gave of a bright orange color.

When burning substance #3 (above) it also gave off a distinct orange coloration. 

Substance #4 (above) was interesting because it gave a greenish, reddish, and even purplish color. 

Substance #5 shown above had an reddish orange coloration. 

Finally, substance #6 was pretty red for a decent amount of time before slowly turning into a more orange green combination. 

Lab questions:

Think Critically: How can the single electron in a hydrogen atom produce all of the lines found in its emission spectrum?

When an electron becomes excited, in this case because of the heat energy, the electron travels across levels. This is a more up and down pattern which produces various coloration at different levels or heights. 

Predict: How can you predict the absorption spectrum of a solution by looking at its color?

You can predict that the absorption spectrum of a solution by seeing where the substance will peak at the wavelength of the complimentary color of the solution.   

Apply: How can spectra be used to identify the presence of specific elements in a substance?

A spectra can be used to identify the presence of specific elements in a substance because each element will produce unique colors and variations when exited with energy like heat. Those colors when observed, will help you uncover the the identity of the unknown substance. 

Error Analysis. Name a potential source of error in this experiment. Choose one of the elements you observed, and research its absorption spectrum. Compare your findings with the results of your experiment.

A major potential source of error which definitely affected my group was cross contamination of the substances on the skewer which caused similarities in the color differentiation of the flame when the substances were burnt. This made the substances sometimes indistinguishable from one another.