Honors Unit Two: Flame Test and Line Emission Spectra Lab

Dr. Rodriguez-Reyes

Name:________________________ Class:____________ Date:_________

Introduction: The normal electron arrangement in atoms of an element is known as the “ground state” which is the
most stable state for the atom. All of its electrons are in the lowest energy levels available. When atoms in the ground
state are heated to high temperatures, some electrons may absorb enough energy to allow them to jump to a higher level
of energy, called an “excited state”. An element’s atoms have an infinite number of excited states that its electrons can be
promoted to, and the level to which an electron is promoted depends on how much energy it absorbs. Also, some atoms
may promote electrons from more than one ground state to more than one excited state.
Since all atoms will tend to exist at the lowest energy possible, the promoted electrons will fall back down from the
excited states to the ground state. When an electron transitions from excited state to ground state, a packet of
electromagnetic radiation, called a photon, is emitted. A photon is commonly represented by a squiggly line (See Figure).
The energy of each emitted photon is equal to the difference in
energy between the excited state and the ground sate. The energy of
the photon is related to its frequency by Equation 1, E = h. The
frequency of the light is related to the wavelength by Equation 2,
c=. Wavelengths of visible light are related to colors of light by the
following chart (also on page 92)
E = change in energy in Joules
h= Plank’s constant 6.626 x10-34 Js
= (nu) frequency in s-1 or Hz
c = speed of light, constant, 3.00 x 108m/s
 = (lambda) wavelength, in meters or nanometers
1m = 1 x109 nm

Table 1: Color of visible light and corresponding wavelength

Color Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet
 650 nm 590 nm 570 nm 510 nm 475 nm 445 nm 400 nm

Purpose: The cations, Na, Li, K, Ba, Ca, etc are positively charged. They are bonded to anions by ionic bonds to form
neutral ionic compounds. You will apply a flame (a source of quanta of energy) to these metal cations and then witness
the result of the electron’s return to ground state. You will record the color of light emitted by all of the metals and
determine the approximate wavelength of the light emitted by some of the metals. Using the approximate wavelengths
and the equations E=h and c=, you will calculate the energy emitted by the photons as the electrons
transition from the excited state to the ground state.
Materials per Group Chemicals
Q-tips Solutions: Formulas
Bunsen burner & striker potassium chloride KCl
Spectrometer barium chloride BaCl2
Goggles copper II chloride CuCl2
test solutions lithium chloride LiCl
calcium chloride CaCl2
sodium chloride NaCl
strontium chloride SrCl2

Pre-Lab Questions: Fill in the blanks for 1-8. Calculate # 9!

When an atom absorbs energy, the electrons move from their _________________ state to a(n) ______________
(1) (2)
state. When an atom emits energy, the electrons move from a(n) ___________________ state to their ___________
(3) (4)
state and give off _________________, which travel through space with a specific _______________ (in units of
(5) (6)
Hertz) and a specific __________________ (in units of nanometers) which our eyes detect as a specific
(7)
_________________ of light. (8)
Honors Unit Two: Flame Test and Line Emission Spectra Lab
Dr. Rodriguez-Reyes

Procedure Data
1. DO NOT contaminate the salt sample. That means Be VERY descriptive & don’t use
Color of Flame:
use only one q-tip per solution. You may use the same the same description for more than one salt!!
q-tip to test the same solution more than once, but get
a NEW one for each NEW solution KCl: ___________________
2. TEST THE FLAME COLOR. The teacher will
BaCl2: ___________________
perform a demonstration with the solutions. The
students will record the corresponding color for each
CuCl2: ___________________
solution. After the demonstration, the students will
rotate through stations and will observe the flame for
LiCl: ___________________
7 unknown solution. Then, they will identify each
solution.
CaCl2: ___________________
Rotate through the stations, one solution per station.
a. Slowly, open the gas line. Using the striker
NaCl: ____________________
make a flame on the Bunsen burner.
SrCl2: ____________________
b. Dip a q-tip a couple of seconds in the solution,
then place the wet q-tip in the burner flame and
Unknown 1 ____________________
observe the color of the resulting flame. Repeat
the procedure a few times to be sure of the color. Unknown 2 ____________________
Be very descriptive w/ the colors, ie. Unknown 3 _____________________
Yellowish-orange vs. reddish-orange
Unknown 4 _____________________
or yellow-ish-green vs. primary green
Unknown 5 _____________________
c. When you finished working in the Unknown 6 _____________________
station, turn off the gas line and repeat
Unknown 7 _____________________
the previous procedure for each solution.

3. Line Emission of Hydrogen, Helium and Ne

Lamp’s spectrum: He, H, Hg, Ne
a. Go to the line emission station and use the
spectroscope to first view the spectrum of my
lamp. Describe the spectrum.
b. Make a list of the lines that you observe.
You will record the color and the
wavelength that correspond to the line.
4. If you are sure you have not contaminated the solution,
leave it for the next group. If it is contaminated or you are
You may not leave your station
the last class of the day, rinse the solutions & the NaCl until you have cleaned your station
down the drain, with water. Rinse out the well plates and
clean them with Q-tips. Do not through the q-tip in the and the teacher has checked it
Zink. Clean off table so that no solution or q-tip is left. off!!
Use paper towel to dry your station. Teacher’s Signature: _____________________
Honors Unit Two: Flame Test and Line Emission Spectra Lab
Dr. Rodriguez-Reyes
Post-Lab Questions:
1. Fill out the results table below using Table 1 and the Equations E=h and c=. For each element, you must
show all of your calculations below for any credit!!!
Approximate Approximate
Unknown Frequency in
Color wavelength wavelength in Energy in Joules
Solutions Hertz
in nm meters
1

Unknowns (pick 2) Calculations

2. Draw an atom using the Bohr model and indicate the location of the nucleus. Show and label three energy levels
as n=1, n=2, and n=3. Label n=2 the ground state, Label n=3 the excited state
a. Draw an arrow to show the direction an electron moves when it absorbs energy

3. Bohr labeled each energy level in his atomic model by a _________________________________ number.
4. An electron that absorbs a ___________________ of energy can jump to a ____________________ energy
level, called an excited state.
5. A _________________________ of light is ____________________ when an electron ____________ from an
excited state to ground state.
6. The Bohr model is an inaccurate model of the atom because there is no way to measure the exact
_________________ and __________________ of an electron. This is the Heisenberg ___________________
Principle.
7. Solutions to Schrodinger’s wave equations, known as wave functions along with Heisenberg principle, lead to the
quantum theory, which basically says that electrons travel like _______________ around the nucleus and
although their exact location cannot be known, their _______________ location can be calculated.
8. Thus electrons ___________________ travel around the nucleus in neat orbits as Bohr had postulated.
9. Instead they exist in ____________________, which are ______________________________________ that
indicate the ________________________________.