CAUVERY GLOBAL SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

SALT ANALYSIS
SYSTEMATIC ANALYSIS OF SIMPLE SALT
GENERAL PROCEDURE
PRELIMNARY TESTS
S.NO EXPERIMENT OBSERVATION INFERENCE
I a) Colour:
Colour of the salt is noted Colourless Absence of coooer and iron salts
b) Aooerance:
Appearance of the salt is noted Crystalline May be sulphate, nitrate or chloride
May be carbonate or sulphide (Except
Powderv Ammonium carbonate)
2 Solubilitv:
A little of the salt is shaken well with water. May be sulphate, nitrate, chloride or
Soluble Ammonium carbonate
May be carbonate or sulphide (Except
Insoluble Ammonium carbonate)
,_3 Action of Heat:
'
A small amount of the salt is taken in a dry Colourless, odourless gas which turns
test tube and heated gently. lime water milky evolves May be carbonate
Decripitation occurs May be nitrate
Salt sublimes. Colourless, pungent
smelling gas giving dense white fumes May be ammonium salt
with a glass rod dipped in Con.HCl
evolves
The salt turns yellow when hot and white
when cold May be zinc salt

No characteristic change Absence of carbonate. ammonium and zinc

4 Flame Test:
A small amount of the salt is made in to a Brick red colour flame Presence of Calcium
paste with a few drops ofCon.HCI in a watch Grassy green colour flame
Presence of barium
glass and introduced in to the non-luminous Crimson red colour flame Presence of strontium
part of the bunsen flame.
No characteristic coloured flame Absence of Calcium, Barium and Strontium
5 Ash Test:
A filter paper is soaked in to a solution of the Blue ash Presence of aluminium
salt with Con.nitric acid and cobalt nitrate
Green ash Presence of zinc
solution and burnt.
Pink ash Presence of Magnesium
No characteristic coloured ash Absence of aluminium, zinc, Magnesium

IDENTIFICATION OF ACID RADICALS

6 Action of dilute Hvdrochloric acid:
To a small amount of the salt, di1ute Colourless, odourless gas with brisk
Hydrochloric acid is added effervescence turning lime water milky Carbonate is confinned
evolves

Colourless, rotten egg smelling gas Sulphide is confinned

turning lead acetate paper black evolves
No characteristic gas is evolved Absence of carboniite and sulphide
7 Action of Con. Sulohuric acid:
To a small amount of the salt, I ml of Con. Colourless gas with pungent smell
Sulphuric acid was added and heated. evolved Presence of Chloride.
A reddish brown gas with irritating smell
evolved turning starch iodide paper Presence of Bromide
Jyellow.

Deep violet vapours with pungent smell, Presence oflodide

turns starch iodide paper blue.
A reddish brown gas with fishy odour
evolved Presence of Nitrate.
 8 Cooner Turnio11s Test:
A small amount of the salt is heated with
Copper Turnings and a few drops of cone.
Reddish brown gas is evolved.
Presence of Nitrate.

Absence of Nitrate.
." 1"-
Sulphuric acid. No reddish brown 11as is evolved.

9 Action of Sodium hvdroxide:

- A small amount of the salt is heated with Pungent smelling gas forming ?ense .
Presence of Ammonium salt.
white fumes with a glass rod dipped m
Sodium Hydroxide.
cone. HCI acid evolves
Absence of Ammonium.
No oun11ent smellinl! 11as.
10 Chromvl Chloride Test:
To a small amount of the salt a pinch of Red orange vapours evolved are passed
Potassium Dichromate is added and heated through water to get a yellow solution, Chloride is confirmed.
with few drops of cone. Sulphuric acid. which on adding Lead acetate forms a
lvellow precipitate .
• No Red oranl!e vapours. Absence of chloride.

PREPARATION OF SODIUM CARBONATE EXTRACT

A small amount of salt is mixed with twice the amount of sodium carbonate and 20ml of distilled water is added, boiled for IO minutes,
cooled and filtered. The filtrate is called "SODIUM CARBONATE EXTRACT".
S.NO EXPERIMENT OBSERVATION INFERENCE
1 Silver Nitrate Test:
To a few drops of the extract dilute Nitric A curdy white precipitate, soluble in Presence of Chloride.
Acid is added until the effervescence ceases excess of Ammonium hydroxide.
and 2ml of Silver Nitrate solution is added. A black orecioitate. Presence of Sulphide.
No precipitate. Absence of chloride and sulohide.
2 Lead acetate Test:
To a few drops of the extract, dilute acetic A white precipitate is soluble in
acid is added until the effervescence ceases ammonium acetate and sodium hydroxide Presence of sulphate
and 2 ml oflead acetate solution is added. mixture is obtained
\ - -
- - - - Presence of Sulphlde. -
A black precipitate soluble in hot dilute
nitric acid is obtained.
No orecioitate. Absence of Sulohate and Sulphide.
3 Barium Chloride Test:
To a few drops of the extract, dilute
Hydrochloric Acid is added until the A curdy white precipitate completely
effervescence ceases and 2 ml of Barium soluble in excess on ammonium Presence of sulphate
chloride solution is added. hydroxide is obtained.

A black precioitate is obtained. Presence of Sulphide.

No precipitate. Absence of chloride and sulohide.
4 Brown Rini! Test:
To a few drops of extract dilute Sulphuric Brown ring is formed at the junction of
acid is added until the effervescence ceases, the two layers. Nitrate is confirmed.
then freshly prepared FeSO4 is added and
then conctrated Sulphuric acid is added drop
by drop along the sides of the test tube. No brown ring. Absence of Nitrate.

"'
1, 5

""
Sodium nitroprusside~ t:

To a few drops of the extra~ of sodium

\~ nitroprusside solution was ad . Violet colour prec~ tained. Presence of Sulphid~
-
 , ,,1e1N '~ Permanganate Test:
)(
To a few drops of the ex t dil Sulphuric
acid was added till the efferev ~ ce ceases
and a few drops of acidified Potassi~
Permanganate was added.
"'~
Purple colour of Potassibm
~ooors,1~~

"'-
Permanganate discharged

-
lDENTIFICA TION OF BASIC RADICALS
Preparation of Orieinal Solution:

The original solution is prepared by dissolving the salt in 10 to 15 ml of distilled water. lfit is insoluble in water, it is prepared by
dissolvine in dilute nitric acid.
ZERO GROUP
S.NO EXPERIMENT OBSERVATION INFERENCE
I To I ml of the original solution a few drops of
Nessler's reagent and excess of sodium Reddish brown precipitate is obtained Ammonium is confirmed.
hydroxide solution are added.
Absence of Ammonium.
No reddish brown orecioitate is obtained
GROUP SEPARATION
I To a few drops of the original solution 2 ml of
dilute HCI is added. White precipitate soluble when boiled
with water is obtained. Presence of First Group. (Lead).

No white precipitate is obtained. Absence of First Group (Lead).

To a few drops of the original solution 2 ml of

2
dilute HCI is added and H 2S gas is passed.
No black precipitate is obtained. Absence of Second Groun /Conne-r).
To a few drops of the original solution I ml Gelatinous white precipitate. Presence of Third Group (Aluminium).
3
NH.Cl and 2 ml NH 4 OH solutions are added.
No characteristic nrecinitate. Absence of Third Grouo <Aluminium).
4
Dirty white precipitate. Presence of Fourth Group (Zinc).
To a few drops oftbe original solution I ml
NH4 CI and 2 ml NH4 0Hsolutions are added
and H2S gas is passed. No characteristic precipitate. Absence of Fourth Group (Zinc).

5 Presence of Fifth Group (Calcium or Barium

To a few drops of the original solution I ml White precipitate.
or Strontium).
ammonium chloride, 2 ml Ammonium
hydroxide and 2 ml ammonium carbonate Absence of Fifth Group (Calcium or Barium
solutions are added. No characteristic precipitate.
or Strontium).
6
To a few drops of the original solution I ml White precipitate. Presence of Sixth Group (Magnesium).
NH4CI, 2 ml NH4OH and 2 ml Di Sodium
Hydrogen Phosphate are added. No characteristic precipitate. Absence of Sixth Group (Magnesium).

CONFIRMATORY TESTS FOR BASIC RADICALS

S.NO EXPERIMENT OBSERVATION INFERENCE

Lead (I Group) Yellow precipitate soluble in hot water

I To a few drops of the original solution which reappears as golden yellow Lead is confirmed.
Potassium Iodide is added. spangles on cooling.

Aluminium (Ill Group)

2 To a few drops of the original solution A bright red lake is obtained. Aluminium is confirmed.
Ammonium Hydroxide and Aluminon reagent
are added.
·-
 White precipitate soluble in excess of
Zinc (IV Group) Zinc is confinned
3 Sodium hydroxide & insoluble in dilute
To a few drops of the original solution 2 ml of
Potassium Ferro cyanide is added. acid.

Barium (V Group) Yellow precipitate, soluble in acid. Barium is confinned.

To a few drops of the original solution 2 ml of
Potassium Chromate is added.
Calcium (V Group)
To a few drops of the original solution White precipitate insoluble in Acetic Calcium is confinned.
4 Ammonium Hydroxide and Ammonium acid.
Oxalate are added.

Strontium (V Group)
To a few drops of the original solution 2 ml of White precipitate is obtained Strontium is confirmed
Ammonium oxalate was added.

Magnesium (VI Group)

5 To a few drops of the original solution Blue precipitate. Magnesium is confinned.
Magneson reagent is added.

Result:

The ~iven simole salt contains

il Acid Radical : - - - - --
m Basic Radical :