Flame tests!

 I added another aspect to flame test.  After the teens do the labs below, they are missing salts to produce different colors.  Below are pix from lab, today.  I like to document class exercises as evidence the class is lab-based for online schools.

First, here is the blog post from last December regarding flame tests.  My teens do Energy Calculations in conjunction with flame tests.  They also light Colorflame birthday candles as unknowns.  While the rest of the class completed their timelines, four students started flame tests.  I find allowing kids to work ahead motivates the other to work more efficiently.  BTW the wood splints are wooden coffee stir sticks.  The kids soak wood splints in tap water and dip the sticks into the chemicals.  I have six metallic salts set aside just for flame tests.  I don’t worry about cross contamination.  I use a blue glass for potassium chloride.  It’s hard to see the faint pink or violet flame.  The blue glass helps.  STERNO works better than tea candles.  Below are a few pix.