Flame test - wikipedia Flame test The flame test carried out on a copper halide. The characteristic bluish - green color of the flame is due to the copper. Different flame of Bunsen burner, depending on air flow through the valve : air valve closed air valve nearly fully closed air valve semi-opened air valve maximally opened Gas flame A flame test is an analytic procedure used in chemistry to detect the presence of certain elements, primarily metal ions, based on each element 's characteristic emission spectrum. The color of flames in general also depends on temperature ; see flame color. Contents 1 Process 2 Results 3 Common elements 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Process The test involves introducing a sample of the element or compound to a hot, non-luminous flame, and observing the color of the flame that results. The idea of the test is that sample atoms evaporate and since they are hot, they emit light when being in flame. Bulk sample emits light too, but its light is not good for analysis. Bulk sample emits light primarily due to motion of the atoms, therefore its spectrum is broad, consisting of a broad range of colors. Separate atoms of sample present in flame can emit only due to electronic transitions between different atomic energy levels. Those transitions emit light of very specific frequencies, characteristic of chemical element itself. Therefore, the flame gets the color, which is primarily determined by properties of the chemical element of the substance being put into flame. The flame test is a relatively easy experiment to set up, and thus is often demonstrated or carried out in science classes in schools. Samples are usually held on a platinum wire cleaned repeatedly with hydrochloric acid to remove traces of previous analytes. The compound is usually made into a paste with concentrated hydrochloric acid, as metal halides, being volatile, give better results. Different flames should be tried to avoid wrong data due to `` contaminated '' flames, or occasionally to verify the accuracy of the color. In high - school chemistry courses, wooden splints are sometimes used, mostly because solutions can be dried onto them, and they are inexpensive. Nichrome wire is also sometimes used. When using a splint, one must be careful to wave the splint through the flame rather than holding it in the flame for extended periods, to avoid setting the splint itself on fire. The use of cotton swab or melamine foam ( used in `` eraser '' cleaning sponges ) as a support have also been suggested. Sodium is a common component or contaminant in many compounds and its spectrum tends to dominate over others. The test flame is often viewed through cobalt blue glass to filter out the yellow of sodium and allow for easier viewing of other metal ions. Results The flame test is relatively quick and simple to perform, and can be carried out with the basic equipment found in most chemistry laboratories. However, the range of elements positively detectable under these conditions is small, as the test relies on the subjective experience of the experimenter rather than any objective measurements. The test has difficulty detecting small concentrations of some elements, while too strong a result may be produced for certain others, which tends to cause fainter colors to not appear. Although the flame test only gives qualitative information, not quantitative data about the proportion of elements in the sample, quantitative data can be obtained by the related techniques of flame photometry or flame emission spectroscopy. Flame Atomic absorption spectroscopy Instruments, made by e.g. PerkinElmer or Shimadzu, can be operated in emission mode according to the instrument manuals. Common elements Some common elements and their corresponding colors are : Symbol Name Color Image Al Aluminium Silver - white, in very hot such as an electric arc, light blue As Arsenic Blue Boron Bright green Ba Barium Pale / Apple green Be Beryllium White Bi Bismuth Azure Ca Calcium Brick red, light green as seen through blue glass Cd Cadmium Brick red Ce Cerium Blue Co Cobalt Silver - white Cr Chromium Silver - white Cs Caesium Blue - Violet Cu ( I ) Copper ( I ) Bluish - green Cu ( II ) Copper ( II ) ( non-halide ) Green Cu ( II ) Copper ( II ) ( halide ) Blue - green Ge Germanium Pale blue Fe ( II ) Iron ( II ) Gold, when very hot such as an electric arc, bright blue, or green turning to orange - brown Fe ( III ) Iron ( III ) Orange - brown Hf Hafnium White Hg Mercury Red In Indium Indigo / Blue Potassium Lilac Li Lithium crimson red ; invisible through green glass Mg Magnesium ( none ), but for burning Mg metal Intense White Mn ( II ) Manganese ( II ) Yellowish green Mo Molybdenum Yellowish green Na Sodium Intense yellow ; invisible through cobalt blue glass Nb Niobium Green or blue Ni Nickel Silver - white ( sometimes reported as colorless ) Phosphorus Pale bluish green Pb Lead Blue / white Ra Radium Crimson Rb Rubidium Red - violet Sb Antimony Pale green Sc Scandium Orange Se Selenium Azure Sn Tin Blue - white Sr Strontium Crimson to Scarlet, yellowish through green glass and violet through blue cobalt glass Ta Tantalum Blue Te Tellurium Pale green Ti Titanium Silver - white Tl Thallium Pure green V Vanadium Yellowish Green Tungsten Green Y Yttrium Carmine, Crimson, or Scarlet Zn Zinc Colorless ( sometimes reported as bluish - green ) Zr Zirconium Mild red Gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and a number of other elements do not produce a characteristic flame color, although some may produce sparks ( as do metallic titanium and iron ) ; salts of beryllium and gold reportedly deposit pure metal on cooling. See also Colored fire Emission spectrum Photoelectric flame photometer Qualitative inorganic analysis Burning splint test Glowing splint test References ^ Jump up to : Jim Clark ( 2005 ). `` Flame Tests ''. Chemguide. Jump up ^ Sanger, Michael J. ; Phelps, Amy J. ; Catherine Banks ( 2004 ). `` Simple Flame Test Techniques Using Cotton Swabs ''. Journal of Chemical Education. 81 ( 7 ) : 969. Bibcode : 2004JChEd... 81... 969S. doi : 10.1021 / ed081p969 Jump up ^ Landis, Arthur M. ; Davies, Malonne I. ; Landis, Linda ; Nicholas c. Thomas ( 2009 ). `` '' Magic Eraser '' Flame Tests ``. Journal of Chemical Education. 86 ( 5 ) : 577. Bibcode : 2009JChEd... 86... 577L. doi : 10.1021 / ed086p577 Jump up ^ `` Atomic Absorption ( AA ) ''. Perkin Elmer. Retrieved 2 May 2013. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flame test. Flame Test - Coloring Fire - Pictures of Several Flame Tests, Includes Instructions WebMineral.com - Flame Coloration by Element Listen to this article ( info / dl ) This audio file was created from a revision of the article `` Flame test '' dated 2012 - 07 - 22, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. ( Audio help ) More spoken articles Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Flame_test&oldid=816321223 '' Categories : Chemical tests Chemistry classroom experiments Fire Hidden categories : Articles with inconsistent citation formats Spoken articles Articles with hAudio microformats Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 हिन्दी Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Lietuvių Nederlands 日本 語 ਪੰਜਾਬੀ پنجابی Polski Português Română Русский Simple English Slovenčina தமிழ் اردو Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 20 December 2017, at 16 : 44. 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Question: what color flame test indicates the presence of strontium
Answer: Crimson to Scarlet, yellowish through green glass and violet through blue cobalt glass; Crimson to Scarlet, yellowish through green glass and violet through blue cobalt glass; Crimson to Scarlet, yellowish through green glass and violet through blue cobalt glass; Crimson to Scarlet, yellowish through green glass and violet through blue cobalt glass; Crimson to Scarlet, yellowish through green glass and violet through blue cobalt glass