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A student carried out some tests on copper sulfate - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry - Question 4 - 2021 - Paper 1
Question 4
A student carried out some tests on copper sulfate. (a) A flame test was carried out on some copper sulfate crystals. The student used the following method. step ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A student carried out some tests on copper sulfate - Edexcel - GCSE Chemistry - Question 4 - 2021 - Paper 1
Step 1
State why in step 1 the wire is dipped in hydrochloric acid and held in a roaring Bunsen burner flame.
Answer
The purpose of dipping the wire in hydrochloric acid is to clean the wire in order to prevent contamination of the sample. This ensures that the flame test results are accurate and specifically related to copper sulfate.
Step 2
State why in step 2 the wire is dipped in hydrochloric acid again before dipping it in the copper sulfate crystals.
Answer
Dipping the wire in hydrochloric acid again allows the solid to vaporize more easily, ensuring that the copper sulfate adheres properly to the wire and improves the test's effectiveness.
Step 3
Step 4
Give an advantage of using a flame photometer, rather than a flame test, to test for copper ions.
Answer
A flame photometer provides more precise and quantitative measurements of the ions present, leading to more reliable results compared to the more qualitative assessment provided by a flame test.