Nigel Baldwin | Flame tests using cotton buds 2 MVI 2106 @nigelbaldwin3184 | Uploaded September 2018 | Updated October 2024, 9 hours ago.
High School Chemistry
Flame tests using cotton buds
Beware of setting fire to the cotton buds whilst heating!
A quick and simple method of carrying out flame tests.
Comparison between the different flame colours is facilitated.
The experiment uses standard laboratory equipment and cotton buds. It is easy to set-up in a minute or two.
Five cotton buds were stuck onto a wooden splint approximately 2cm apart using Sellotape.
A small spatula measure of each salt to be tested was placed on a watch glass and a few drops of distilled water added to produce a salt slush.
The ends of the cotton buds were then dipped into the salt slush.
The splint was clamped horizontally.
A Bunsen burner with blue flame was held underneath each bud for a second or two, (any longer and the buds will melt).
The experiment can be repeated, varying the order of the salts and students asked to identify the metal cations based on the order of the colours observed.
The salts used from left to right:
Lithium chloride
Sodium chloride
Potassium chloride
Calcium chloride
Copper (II) chloride
The lithium chloride did not seem to be of a very good quality and the spectacular red flame colour usually observed was rather poor here.
Different camera, different colours?
This movie clip was shot using a Canon Canon IXUS 255 HS, 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor with a DIGIC 5 processor
The previous movie clip:
Flame tests using cotton buds DSCN0349
youtu.be/Oxi-zv5UVBY
used a Nikon A300 with a 20.1MP CCD sensor
High School Chemistry
Flame tests using cotton buds
Beware of setting fire to the cotton buds whilst heating!
A quick and simple method of carrying out flame tests.
Comparison between the different flame colours is facilitated.
The experiment uses standard laboratory equipment and cotton buds. It is easy to set-up in a minute or two.
Five cotton buds were stuck onto a wooden splint approximately 2cm apart using Sellotape.
A small spatula measure of each salt to be tested was placed on a watch glass and a few drops of distilled water added to produce a salt slush.
The ends of the cotton buds were then dipped into the salt slush.
The splint was clamped horizontally.
A Bunsen burner with blue flame was held underneath each bud for a second or two, (any longer and the buds will melt).
The experiment can be repeated, varying the order of the salts and students asked to identify the metal cations based on the order of the colours observed.
The salts used from left to right:
Lithium chloride
Sodium chloride
Potassium chloride
Calcium chloride
Copper (II) chloride
The lithium chloride did not seem to be of a very good quality and the spectacular red flame colour usually observed was rather poor here.
Different camera, different colours?
This movie clip was shot using a Canon Canon IXUS 255 HS, 12.1 megapixel CMOS sensor with a DIGIC 5 processor
The previous movie clip:
Flame tests using cotton buds DSCN0349
youtu.be/Oxi-zv5UVBY
used a Nikon A300 with a 20.1MP CCD sensor
