Qualitative Analysis, step by step
A practical sequence for an unknown ionic solid.
- Appearance and solubilityColour suggests a transition metal; note whether it dissolves.
- Flame testIdentifies Group 1 and 2 cations.
- Sodium hydroxide testPrecipitate colour and whether it redissolves in excess.
- Test for carbonateDilute acid, then limewater. Do this before halide tests.
- Test for sulfateAcidified barium chloride.
- Test for halideAcidified silver nitrate, then ammonia solution.
NaOH precipitates
- Cu²⁺ blue
- Fe²⁺ green
- Fe³⁺ orange-brown
- Al³⁺ white, redissolves in excess
- Zn²⁺ white, redissolves in excess
Aluminium and zinc hydroxides both redissolve in excess sodium hydroxide because they are amphoteric.
Questions about the Qualitative Analysis poster
- What’s on the Qualitative Analysis poster?
- 6 numbered steps, with a full worked run-through. A practical sequence for an unknown ionic solid. Appearance and solubility — Colour suggests a transition metal; note whether it disso…; Flame test — Identifies Group 1 and 2 cations.; Sodium hydroxide test — Precipitate colour and whether it redissolves in excess.; Test for carbonate — Dilute acid, then limewater. Do this before halide tests.; Test for sulfate — Acidified barium chloride.; Test for halide — Acidified silver nitrate, then ammonia solution.. Aluminium and zinc hydroxides both redissolve in excess sodium hydroxide because they are amphoteric.
- Who is the Qualitative Analysis poster for?
- Qualitative Analysis belongs to the Chemistry section rather than to a school year, because physical science is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning lab practice can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.
- When should you use the Qualitative Analysis poster?
- Cation and anion separately, in a fixed order. Guessing wastes sample. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Qualitative Analysis belongs on the wall where that physical science work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.
- What other posters go with Qualitative Analysis?
- Apparatus, Calorimetry and Graphs in Chemistry sit alongside Qualitative Analysis in the Chemistry section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.ApparatusCalorimetryGraphs in Chemistry
- Is the Qualitative Analysis poster free to download and print?
- Yes. Qualitative Analysis downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Chemistry section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence
- What size does the Qualitative Analysis poster print at?
- Qualitative Analysis is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Qualitative Analysis loses nothing.Printing guide
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