Question

I am having trouble creating a procedure to use to identify five unknown solutions we will be given in chem lab.

The five solutions will be an acid, a base, a chloride salt, a nitrate salt, and a sodium salt. I have to come up with steps to determine which compound is in each category. Only one will be in each solution.

Acid- HCl, HNO3, H2SO4

Base - NaOH, NH3, Na2S

Chloride Salt - NaCl, BaCl2, CuCl

Nitrate Salt - AgNO3, Cu(NO3)2, Fe(NO3)3(acidic)

Sodium Salt - NaI, Na2SO4, Na2CO3(basic)

We can identify certain ions from color or smell, but we must do a chemical test to confirm.

General test to determine Group I and II anions

Group I- to 10 drops of unknown, add 6 M NH3 until basic and then 4 drops BaCl2 solution. Formation of a PPT confirms presence of SO4, CO3, or PO4

Group II- to 10 drops of unknown, add 6 M HNO3 until acidic then add 4 drops more. Add 3 drops AgNO3 solution. Formation of a PPT confirms the presence of Cl, Br or I

Before coming to lab, outline the steps you plan to use to analyze your five solutions. (not in the form of a flowchart)

We will be given pH paper, so I'm thinking the first step would be to test the acidity of all of the unknowns, but as you can see, some of the salts will show up acidic or basic, so I am not really sure how to proceed after that.

Please help.

Answer 1