Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments

Chapter 19 Laboratory: Qualitative Analysis 335

dUL. pR A joNES CommENTS:

You can also dissolve the salt in methanol (in a watch

glass) and ignite the methanol. The flame will burn with

the color of whatever is in there. This is also a nice way of

testing which elements swamp others.

RQEWEvI UESTIOnS

q 1 : Road safety flares produce a brilliant red light. Which element do you think is used to produce that coloration?

q: 2 A pyrotechnic produces brilliant green stars. Salts of what element or elements might be included in the pyrotechnic mixture to
produce this effect?

q: 3 During the Christmas season, some retailers stock fireplace logs that produce colorful flames. How might you produce such
logs yourself from ordinary firewood?

dISoALp S : dilute the waste hydrochloric acid with a

few hundred mL of water and flush it down the drain.