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ANALYSIS OF SIMPLE SALT

EXPERIMENT OBSERVATION INFERENCE

Preliminary tests
1.1.Colour of salt is noted Colourless Absence of coloured salts

2.Odour of the salt is noted No characteristic odour Absence of NH4+ and

CH3COO –

Smell of ammonia May be NH4+

Smell of vinegar May be CH3COO –

3.Solubility of salt is noted Soluble in water Presence of water soluble

salts

4.Flame test No characteristic colour Absence of Ba 2+,Sr 2+ ,Cu 2+

A little of the salt is made
into a paste with conc.HCl Blue May be Cu 2+
and is shown to the flame
Pale green May be Ba2+

Crimson May be Sr 2+

Brick red May be Ca 2+

SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF ANIONS

1.Alittle of the salt is treated Brisk effervescence of Presence of carbonate(CO3 2-)

with dil.HCl colourless odourless gas

CO3 2- + H+ → CO2 +H2O

2.A little of the salt is treated Smell of vinegar Presence of
with dil.sulphuric acid and acetate(CH3COO-)
the odour is noted
CH3COO- + H+→ CH3COOH
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3.Salt is treated with Colourless gas with pungent Presence of chloride(Cl-)

conc.H2SO4 odour giving dense white
fumes with a glass rod
dipped in NH4OH

H+ + Cl-→ HCl

NH4OH + HCl→ NH4Cl + H2O

4.Salt is warmed with Reddish brown vapours Presence of nitrate(NO3-)

conc.H2SO4 and a paper
ball is added to it
NO3- +H2SO4→ HNO3 + SO4 2-

HNO3+ C → 4 NO2 + H2O +CO2

5.An aqueous solution of Thick white ppt insoluble in Presence of sulphate
Salt is treated with dil HCl excess of dil.HCl (SO4 2-)
and Barium chloride
solution is added

Ba2+ + SO4 2- → BaSO4

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CONFIRMATORY TEST FOR ANIONS

1.Carbonate
a.Salt is treated with dil.HCl Milky appearance Presence of carbonate(CO3 2-)
and the outcoming gas is is confirmed
passed through clear lime
water
2 H+ + CO3 2- → CO2 + H2O

Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 + H2O

b.An aqueous solution of white ppt soluble in excess of Presence of carbonate
salt is treated with Barium dil.HCl (CO3 2-)is confirmed
chloride solution

Ba2+ + CO3 2- → BaCO3

2.HALIDES(Cl-)
An aqueous solution of salt white curdy ppt soluble in Presence of chloride(Cl-)
is treated with dil HNO3 and excess of NH4OH is confirmed
AgNO3 solution is added

Ag+ + Cl - → AgCl

3.NITRATE(NO3-)
An aqueous solution of salt A brown ring is formed Presence of nitrate(NO3-)
is treated with an equal is confirmed
amount of freshly prepared
ferrous sulphate solution and
conc.sulphuric acid is added
through the sides of the test
tube

4H+ + NO3 - + 3Fe2+ →3Fe3+ NO + 2H2O

FeSO4 + NO + 5H2O → [Fe (H2O)5NO]SO4
4.ACETATE
a.An aqueous solution of Reddish brown ppt Presence of
salt is treated with a few acetate(CH3COO-)is
drops of neutral FeCl3 confirmed
solution
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b.An aqueous solution of Presence of

salt is warmed with a few pleasant fruity odour acetate(CH3COO-)is
drops of ethanol and confirmed
conc.H2SO4,cooled and
poured into water.
CH3COOH + C2H5OH → CH3COOC2H5 + H2O

5.SULPHATE
An aqueous solution of salt white ppt Presence of sulphate
is treated with a few drops (SO4 2-) is confirmed
of acetic acid and lead
acetate solution

Pb2+ + SO4 2- → PbSO4

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SYSTEMATIC
ANALYSIS OF BASIC
RADICALS

1.To the salt solution add Smell of ammonia Presence of zero group
sodium hydroxide solution

2.Add dil.HCl to the salt

solution white ppt Presence of group I

3.To the salt solution add

dil.HCl and pass H2S
black or yellow ppt Presence of group II
4.To the salt solution add
solid ammonium chloride
and excess of ammonium white ppt Presence of group III
hydroxide

5.To the salt solution add

solid ammonium chloride
,excess of ammonium black ppt Presence of group IV
hydroxide and pass H2S

6.To the salt solution add

solid ammonium chloride , white ppt Presence of group V
excess of ammonium
hydroxide and ammonium
carbonate solution

7.To the salt solution add

solid ammonium chloride , white ppt Presence of group VI
excess of ammonium
hydroxide and sodium
hydrogen phosphate
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Analysis of zero group

1.A little of the salt solution Smell of ammonia Presence of zero group
is treated with NaOH
solution (NH4+ )
NH4+ + OH- → NH3 + H2O
2.An aqueous solution of Brown ppt Presence of
salt is warmed with
Nessler’s reagent [K2HgI4] (NH4+ ) is confirmed
and NaOH solution is added
in excess
2K2HgI4 + 4NH3 + H2O → NH2HgOHgI + 4KI + 3NH4 I
3.An aqueous solution of Thick white fumes Presence of
salt is warmed with NaOH
solution and bring a glass (NH4+ ) is confirmed
rod dipped in conc.HCl

NH4+ + OH- → NH3 + H2O

NH3 + HCl→ NH4 Cl

Analysis of 1st group

Dissolve group 1 ppt in hot
water and divide the solution
into 3 test tubes
1.Potassium chromate
solution is added to the first Presence of
part of solution yellow ppt (Pb2+ ) is confirmed

Pb2+ + S 2- → PbS
2.Potassium iodide solution yellow ppt Presence of
is added to the second part (Pb2+ ) is confirmed
of solution
Pb2+ + CrO4 2- → PbCrO4
3.Sodium sulphide solution black ppt Presence of
is added to the third part of (Pb2+ ) is confirmed
solution
Pb2+ + 2 I- → PbI2
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Analysis of 3rd group

1.Colour of the ppt White gelatinous ppt Presence of

(Al3+ )
2.Disssolve the 3rd group Blue floating ppt in colorless Presence of
ppt in dil.HCl and add a few solution (Al3+ ) is confirmed
drops of blue litmus solution
followed by ammonia
solution until the solution
becomes ammoniacal
Al(OH)3 + 3HCl → AlCl3 + H2O

AlCl3 + 3NH4OH → Al(OH)3 + NH4Cl

3.Ash Test Blue ash Presence of

The salt solution is mixed (Al3+ ) is confirmed
with few drops of
conc.HNO3 and cobalt
nitrate.Soak a filter paper
strip in it and burn it

Al(OH)3→ Al2O3 + 3H2O

2Al2O3 + 2Co(NO3)2 → 2 Co.OAl2O3 + 4NO2 + O2

Analysis of 4th group

1.Colour of the ppt white Presence of

(Zn2+ )
Dissolve the 4th group ppt
in dil.HCl and boil off H2S
and divided into two parts

2.To one portion of the

solution add NaOH in drops white ppt formed dissolved in Presence of
and then in excess excess NaOH (Zn2+ )
ZnCl2 + 2 NaOH → Zn(OH)2

Zn(OH)2 +2NaOH → Na2ZnO2 + H2O

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3.To the second part of the white ppt Presence of

above solution potassium (Zn2+ ) confirmed
ferrocyanide solution is
added
ZnCl2 + K4[Fe(CN)6 ] → Zn2 [Fe(CN)6 ] + KCl
4.The salt or group ppt is green ash Presence of
made into a paste with (Zn2+ ) confirmed
conc.HNO3 and cobalt
nitrate solution.Soak a filter
paper strip in it and burn it
into ashes.
Analysis of 5th group

The 5th group ppt is

dissolved in acetic acid and
divided into 3 parts
1.Take one portion of the yellow ppt Presence of
above solution and (Ba2+ )
potassium chromate is added
to it
(CH3COO)2Ba + K2 CrO4 → BaCrO4 + CH3COOK
2.Ammonium sulphate white ppt Presence of
solution is added to the (Sr2+ )
second portion of the above
solution
(CH3COO)2Sr + (NH4)2SO4 → SrSO4 + 2CH3COONH4
3.Take third portion of white ppt Presence of
above solution ,add (Ca2+ )
ammonium hydroxide and
ammonium oxalate and boil
it
(CH3COO)2Ca + (NH4)2C2O4 → CaC2O4 + 2CH3COONH4
4.Flame test:A little of the pale green Presence of
salt is made into a paste with (Ba2+ )confirmed
conc.HCl and is shown to
the flame crimson red Presence of
(Ba2+ )confirmed
brick red Presence of
(Ca2+ )confirmed
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Analysis of 6th group

1.The filtrate of the 6th white ppt Presence of

group is concentrated by (Mg2+ )
evaporation and mixed with
NH4OH and sodium
hydrogen phosphate and
scratch the sides of the test
tube with a glass rod
Mg2+ + HPO4 2- + NH4OH + 5H2O → MgNH4PO4.6H2O
2.Dissolve the ppt in dil.HCl A blue coloured ppt or Presence of
and add a few drops of solution (Mg2+ )confirmed
magneson reagent
Mg2+ + 2OH- + Magneson I → Mg (OH)2 Magneson I
3.Ash Test:The salt solution pink ash Presence of
is mixed with few drops of (Mg2+ )confirmed
conc.HNO3 and cobalt
nitrate.Soak a filter paper
strip in it and burn it

Result:The given salt contains __________ as acidic radical, ___________ as basic

radical.The given salt is ___________.