Flame Test Lab Report
Background
In the Flame test lab we took a simple wire, looped it, and rinsed it in HCL (Hydrochloric Acid ). Then we dipped the wire in the different samples provided. The samples provided were Sodium,Potassium,Calcium, Barium, Strontium, Lithium , and Copper II. Finally we put the wire loop into the flame of the bunsen burner. The flame erupted into many different colors for each specific sample. We then used the colors we recorded to find the two unknown samples given to us. But the question is why does a flame produce a different color for each sample? And why does that sample produce that specific color.
A scientist by the name of Isaac Newton discovered that if you look through a glass prism into a beam of light you can see a spectrum that is made up of seven different colors. The colors …show more content…
are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
This can be related to the colors of the rainbow. Red has the lowest energy, and violet has the highest energy. According to Barberton Schools, “The normal electron configuration of atoms or ions of an element is known as the“ground state.” In this most stable energy state, all electrons are in the lowest energy levels available. When atoms or ions in the “ground state” are heated to high temperatures, some electrons may absorb enough energy to allow them to “jump” to higher energy levels”(Barberton High School,para 4). All electrons reside in energy levels. Electrons want to be stable, or in the ground state. But when electrons absorb enough energy, for example an electron absorbing energy from a heat source they get excited. When they get into the “excited” state the electrons tend to jump into higher energy levels. But, when they jump into these energy levels
the electrons are not stable. So, the electrons fall back into their ground states. What happens to the energy of the electrons? The energy of the electrons is given out in the form of electromagnetic energy. You can see some of this energy in the visible light spectrum. So, when you light the flame in the bunsen burner with the sample on the wire loop the electrons are becoming excited because of the increased energy given by the heat. The electrons are jumping to higher energy levels and then as they fall back to their ground states they give off energy in the form of visible light that we can see with the naked eye.
Each different element gives off a different, specific color. “These element-specific colors are a result of their emission spectrum”(Spangler ,2013,para 3 ). Each element has their own Emission Spectrum. And that’s how you can identify each specific element, because the elements are giving off light at different wavelengths. “An emission spectrum is the electromagnetic radium, such as visible light that a substance emits” ("What Is an Emission Spectrum? (with pictures)," n.d.). Each element has a unique wavelength, like each human has a unique fingerprint. Look at the wavelengths and frequencies of each element to recognize exactly which element that you are looking at. For example, green light will have a higher energy, frequency, and shorter wavelength than red light. In class we were given a prism, and we put the prism over our eye and looked in the flames of different elements. We saw for example, the element hydrogen and through the prism over our eye the color of the hydrogen color was split into many different colors. We were actually seeing a small part of the hydrogen emission spectrum. It is only a small part of it because some parts of the emission spectrum are not visible to our eyes. “A rainbow is an example of the continuous spectrum produced by the Sun. Water droplets act as prisms, splitting the Sun’s light into its various wavelengths” ("What Is an Emission Spectrum? (with pictures)," n.d., para 5 ).
The Emission spectrum is actually a type of line spectra. Line spectra is made up of separate lines detached from one another. Line spectra can have many different types continuous, which would be like a rainbow or a light bulb. In can also have discreet which would be The Emission spectrum. How do scientists use line spectra? “The spectral line can tell us the element, but the temperature and density of that element in the star. The spectral line also can tell us about any magnetic field of the star. The width of the line can tell us how fast the material is moving” (Newman, 2009). Scientists can use line spectra to figure out an abundance of information about the element, or even sometimes star that they are dealing with. This can be seen in conjunction to our lab in the classroom, when we used the information derived from our chart to figure out the two unknown elements. And since each element has it’s own unique “fingerprint” or line spectra scientists in addition to ,others can figure out the element.
Why are we doing this lab in the classroom? The reason that we are doing this lab in the classroom is so that we can further learn about the energy levels and different states of the electrons. There is only so much you can explain to fully comprehend a concept. This lab allows us to see electrons emitting energy and moving from a higher energy level to a lower energy level with our own eyes.
References
1.Highschool, B. (n.d.). Lab 4.2 Flame Test Lab. Retrieved November 2, 2014 http://www.barbertonschools.org/Downloads/flame_test_lab.doc.
2.Spangler, S. (2013). Flame Test - Colorful Elements | Experiments | Steve Spangler Science. Retrieved from http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/flame-test
3.What Is an Emission Spectrum? (with pictures). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-emission-spectrum.htm
4.Newman, P. (2009, November 25). Spectra - Introduction. Retrieved from http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/how_l1/spectra.html
In the Flame test lab we took a simple wire, looped it, and rinsed it in HCL (Hydrochloric Acid ). Then we dipped the wire in the different samples provided. The samples provided were Sodium,Potassium,Calcium, Barium, Strontium, Lithium , and Copper II. Finally we put the wire loop into the flame of the bunsen burner. The flame erupted into many different colors for each specific sample. We then used the colors we recorded to find the two unknown samples given to us. But the question is why does a flame produce a different color for each sample? And why does that sample produce that specific color.
A scientist by the name of Isaac Newton discovered that if you look through a glass prism into a beam of light you can see a spectrum that is made up of seven different colors. The colors …show more content…
are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
This can be related to the colors of the rainbow. Red has the lowest energy, and violet has the highest energy. According to Barberton Schools, “The normal electron configuration of atoms or ions of an element is known as the“ground state.” In this most stable energy state, all electrons are in the lowest energy levels available. When atoms or ions in the “ground state” are heated to high temperatures, some electrons may absorb enough energy to allow them to “jump” to higher energy levels”(Barberton High School,para 4). All electrons reside in energy levels. Electrons want to be stable, or in the ground state. But when electrons absorb enough energy, for example an electron absorbing energy from a heat source they get excited. When they get into the “excited” state the electrons tend to jump into higher energy levels. But, when they jump into these energy levels
the electrons are not stable. So, the electrons fall back into their ground states. What happens to the energy of the electrons? The energy of the electrons is given out in the form of electromagnetic energy. You can see some of this energy in the visible light spectrum. So, when you light the flame in the bunsen burner with the sample on the wire loop the electrons are becoming excited because of the increased energy given by the heat. The electrons are jumping to higher energy levels and then as they fall back to their ground states they give off energy in the form of visible light that we can see with the naked eye.
Each different element gives off a different, specific color. “These element-specific colors are a result of their emission spectrum”(Spangler ,2013,para 3 ). Each element has their own Emission Spectrum. And that’s how you can identify each specific element, because the elements are giving off light at different wavelengths. “An emission spectrum is the electromagnetic radium, such as visible light that a substance emits” ("What Is an Emission Spectrum? (with pictures)," n.d.). Each element has a unique wavelength, like each human has a unique fingerprint. Look at the wavelengths and frequencies of each element to recognize exactly which element that you are looking at. For example, green light will have a higher energy, frequency, and shorter wavelength than red light. In class we were given a prism, and we put the prism over our eye and looked in the flames of different elements. We saw for example, the element hydrogen and through the prism over our eye the color of the hydrogen color was split into many different colors. We were actually seeing a small part of the hydrogen emission spectrum. It is only a small part of it because some parts of the emission spectrum are not visible to our eyes. “A rainbow is an example of the continuous spectrum produced by the Sun. Water droplets act as prisms, splitting the Sun’s light into its various wavelengths” ("What Is an Emission Spectrum? (with pictures)," n.d., para 5 ).
The Emission spectrum is actually a type of line spectra. Line spectra is made up of separate lines detached from one another. Line spectra can have many different types continuous, which would be like a rainbow or a light bulb. In can also have discreet which would be The Emission spectrum. How do scientists use line spectra? “The spectral line can tell us the element, but the temperature and density of that element in the star. The spectral line also can tell us about any magnetic field of the star. The width of the line can tell us how fast the material is moving” (Newman, 2009). Scientists can use line spectra to figure out an abundance of information about the element, or even sometimes star that they are dealing with. This can be seen in conjunction to our lab in the classroom, when we used the information derived from our chart to figure out the two unknown elements. And since each element has it’s own unique “fingerprint” or line spectra scientists in addition to ,others can figure out the element.
Why are we doing this lab in the classroom? The reason that we are doing this lab in the classroom is so that we can further learn about the energy levels and different states of the electrons. There is only so much you can explain to fully comprehend a concept. This lab allows us to see electrons emitting energy and moving from a higher energy level to a lower energy level with our own eyes.
References
1.Highschool, B. (n.d.). Lab 4.2 Flame Test Lab. Retrieved November 2, 2014 http://www.barbertonschools.org/Downloads/flame_test_lab.doc.
2.Spangler, S. (2013). Flame Test - Colorful Elements | Experiments | Steve Spangler Science. Retrieved from http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/flame-test
3.What Is an Emission Spectrum? (with pictures). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-emission-spectrum.htm
4.Newman, P. (2009, November 25). Spectra - Introduction. Retrieved from http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/how_l1/spectra.html