Qualitative Analysis: Inorganic
Identifying cations and anions using reagents such as sodium hydroxide and aqueous ammonia.
STATUS
This lab is in development.
When complete, this will be a guided, step-by-step 3D simulation of the real chemistry practical. For now, you can read exactly what the simulation will cover below.
What you’ll do
The guided simulation will walk you through these steps in order.
- 01Dissolve a small sample of the unknown substance in distilled water to make a test solution.
- 02Add dilute sodium hydroxide solution dropwise, then in excess; observe any precipitate colour and whether it dissolves in excess.
- 03Add dilute aqueous ammonia dropwise, then in excess; observe precipitate and solubility in excess.
- 04Record cation inference based on colour and behaviour of precipitates (e.g. blue precipitate soluble in excess NaOH and NH₃ indicates Cu²⁺).
- 05Test the solution for anions: add dilute HCl to test for carbonate (effervescence), add barium chloride for sulphate (white precipitate), add silver nitrate for halides.
- 06Compile results in a table: ion tested, reagent added, observation, inference.