FlameColorsThroughMethanolandanAdditionalCompound

Authors:
Gillie,JasmineKucan,CelesteandRuppel,Matthew

Affiliation:
MatthewRuppels10thGradeChemistryClass,HighTechHighNorthCounty,
SanMarcos,CA

Date:
Friday,September22,2015

ExperimentalProcedure

Electronsbecomeexcitedbyabsorbingenergyandthenjumpinguptoahigher
electronshell,andwhentheygobackdowntheyproduceaphotonoflight.Themetalincertain
chemicalcompoundswillchangethecolorbasedontheemissionspectrumoftheelement.Red
hasthelowestamountofenergyaswellasfrequency,whereasviolethasthehighest.
Theexperimentperformedtestedtoseehowflameswouldreactandwhatcolorthey
wouldturnwhenMethanolwasaddedtodifferentsubstancesinawatchglassandlitonfire.In
thisexperiment,thesubstancesusedwereLithiumChloride,CalciumChloride,Calcium
Carbonate,PotassiumChloride,Borax,Copper(ll)Sulfate,andanunknownsubstance.
Theexperimentinvolvedtwochemistsputintoapartnership,oneworkingasthe
RunnerandtheotherasaHandler.TheHandlerlightsthematchfortheflameandretrieves
alloftheneededsalts,whiletheRunnerusesaneyedroppertohandletheMethanol,aswellas
ashingoutthechemicalsaftertheflameshadburntoutandtheglasshadcooleddownenough.
Bothchemistswereexpectedtorecordtheirobservationsandtouseprotectivegearatalltimes.
Forprotectionduringtheprocedure,everyonewasexpectedtoweargoggles,labcoats,
and(ifhandlingMethanol)gloves.Noonewastoremovesaidprotectiongearwhilean
experimentwasinplace.

MaterialsUsed
Twowatchglasses
Oneeyedropper
Onestirringrod
Oneboxofmatches
OnebottleofMethanol
Halfateaspoonofeachofthesubstances

Procedure
Thesubstanceswereobtainedinthefirstwatchglassandcarefullybroughtbacktothe
workspace.TwodropletsofMethanolwereaddedtothecollectedsubstanceusingthe
eyedropper.Thetwochemicalsarethenmixedtogetherusingastirringrodforabout30seconds
untilthesaltsarebrokendownasmuchaspossible.Themixtureisthenlitonfireandobserved,
detailswererecorded.Whenthewatchglasscooledcompletely,itwasemptied,washed
thoroughly,anddried.Afteritwasconfirmedsafetodoso,anewcombinationofsubstances
wouldbelitandrecorded.

Results

Name

Formula

Colors

ControlMethanol

CH
3
OH

blue

LithiumChloride

CH
3
OH

pink,blue

CalciumChloride

LiCl

orange,blue

theflamesstartedoutasblue
andslowlyturnedintoa
yellowishorange

Calcium

CaCl
2

blue

smallblueflamesthatleft
behindmarksinthesubstance
thatresembledaseashelllike
pattern

KCI

blue

emittedpurplishblueflames
thatgraduallyshrunkaroundthe
potassiumchlorideuntilitburnt
out

Na
2
B
4
0
710
H
2
o

purple,blue,teal,

theflameswereamixofpurple,
blue,teal,andgreen,and
eventuallytheentireflame
turnedorange

Carbonate

Potassium
Chloride

Borax

green,orange

Copper(ll)

Unknown

blueflames
theflamesstartedoutasblue
andslowlyturnedintoabright
pink

CuSo
4

blue,teal,orange

graduallychangedcolorsin
mixesofbluetoteal,andthen
orangesparksbegantoappear
inthetealflameuntilitfinally
burntout

purple,blue,teal,

theflameswereamixofpurple,
blue,teal,andgreen,and
eventuallyturnedorange

Sulfate

Observations

green,orange

TheUnknownsubstancethatwastestedhadflamesthatwhenobserved,hada
combinationofpurple,blue,teal,greenandorange.ThisresembledtheflamesofBoraxand
Methanol,becauseithadthesameeffectsandcharacteristics.BoththeUnknownsubstanceand
Boraxhadthesamecolorsinthebeginningwhichhadthenturnedtoorangebeforetheflame
burntout.

Itwasexpectedthattheflamesweregoingtochangecolor,anditwasknownwhythey
would,buttherewerentmanyexpectationsbecausetherehadntbeenmuchdiscussionaboutthe
individualsubstanceseffectsbefore.Therewashopetoseearainbowflame,soitwouldjust
changeintoabunchofcolors.Butitwassurprisingtoseesomanydifferentcolorsand
sequencesinresponsetoMethanolandanadditionalcompoundbecausetheexpectationwasthat
theflameswouldonlybered,orange,yellowandblue,butthatwasntthecaseatall.

Conclusion

Theexperimentmadeitclearerhowthephotonsinatomsreact.Itwasaninteractive
experiencetophysicallyexciteatomsandseereactionsinflames.Byseeingthechangeincolor
becauseofthecombinationsofMethanolanddifferentcompounds,itwasseenwhatexcited
atomslookedlikeoutsideofatextbook.Theflameschangedcolorjustasexpected,butitalso
didmorethanwhatwaspredicted.Itwasthoughtthattheflameswouldonlybeboringcolors
suchasred,orange,andyellow,butonthefirstexperimenttheflamesendedupturningareally
interestingshadeofhotpink.Therewasalotofinformationobtainedfromthisexperimentation
andnowthebigquestionwastofindthespecificchemicalsinthesubstancethatresultedinthe
coloroftheflame.Inotherwords,whycertainsubstancesbehavedthesamewayandwhyothers
didnt.Todothisaseparateexperimentwouldbeperformedwithmoresubstancesandelements
beingcombinedwithmethanolaswellaseachother.