Spec 8462
Revise AQA GCSE Chemistry 8.3 Identification of ions by chemical and spectroscopic means with the question bank and revision guides.
Flame tests can be used to identify some metal ions (cations). Lithium, sodium, potassium, calcium and copper compounds produce distinctive colours in flame tests: • lithium compounds result in a crimson flame • sodium compounds result in a yellow flame • potassium compounds result in a lilac flame • calcium compounds result in an orange-red flame • copper compounds result in a green flame. • If a sample containing a mixture of ions is used some flame colours can be masked. Students should be able to identify species from the results of the tests in 4.8.3.1 to 4.8.3.5. Flame colours of other metal ions are not required knowledge.
