SALT ANALYSIS

VIVA QUESTIONS
1. What is qualitative inorganic analysis?
Analysis used to identify the cation and anion in a salt.

2. What is an anion or an acidic radical?

The negatively charged ion in a salt

3. What is a cation or a basic radical?

The positively charged ion in a salt

4. Name a basic radical which is not metal?

NH4+

5. What is Nessler’s reagent?

Potassium tetraiodidohydrargyrate(II), K2[HgI4]

6. What is lime water?

Aqueous solution of calcium hydroxide

7. H2SO4 cannot be used for making original solution. Why?

H2SO4 forms an insoluble sulphate layer if Pb2+/Sr2+ / Ca2+ ions are present in the salt.
This insoluble sulphate layer prevents further reaction.

8. Can dil.HNO3 used for testing sulphide (S2-) or sulphite (SO32-) instead of dil. HCl?
No, since it is an oxidising agent it would react with them.

9. Can we use Ba(NO3)2 instead of BaCl2 in the detection of sulphate radical?

Yes, since we need only Ba2+ ions to combine with SO42- ions to form BaSO4.(any
soluble salt of barium can be used)

10.Which colours are shown by Ba2+, Sr2+ and Ca2+ ions during flame test?
Ba2+- apple green, Sr2+- crimson red and Ca2+- brick red

11.Name the basic radicals which are absent if a salt is not coloured.
Cu2+, Fe2+, Fe3+, Cr3+, Co2+ and Mn2+
12.Why does a salt containing lead turn black in colour when placed for a long time in the
laboratory?
Due to the formation of black coloured PbS by the action of H2S in the air.

13.Why do we use conc. HCl for preparing a paste of the mixture for flame test?
In order to convert the metal salts into their chlorides which are more volatile than
nitrates and sulphates.

14.Why is a platinum wire preferred to other metal wires for performing flame test?
A platinum wire is not attacked by chemicals and does not impart any colour to the
flame.

15.Can we use a glass rod in place of a platinum wire for performing the flame test?
No, the glass contains sodium silicate as one of its constituents which imparts a golden
yellow colour to the flame. Hence, it will interfere with the identification of basic
radicals.

16.Which part of the flame is used to perform the flame test?

Non-luminous (oxidising)

17.Explain the chemistry of flame test.

Certain metallic salts (especially chlorides of Groups 1 and 2) when heated strongly in
an oxidising flame get ionized. The electrons in the ions get excited to higher orbits on
gaining energy from the flame. When the electrons drop back to its original level, it
gives out extra energy in the form of light radiations. In case of metals such as Cu2+,
Ba2+, Sr2+, Ca2+, the amount of energy is small and the light radiations emitted fall in the
visible region, i.e. in the form of coloured flame.

18.Name the radicals which are detected by dilute acid test.

Carbonate, nitrite, sulphite and sulphide

19.Name the acid radicals which are detected by conc. H2SO4 test.
Chloride, bromide, iodide, acetate, oxalate and nitrate

20.Why is silver nitrate solution stored in coloured bottles?

Silver nitrate solution is photosensitive. Sunlight decomposes it into its oxides.
21.Why is dil. HCl sometimes preferred to dil.H2SO4 in preliminary tests?
It reacts faster. Moreover, H2SO4 forms an insoluble sulphate layer if Pb/Sr/ Ca salts are
present in the salt. This insoluble sulphate layer prevents further reaction.

22.Which gas is evolved by the action of dilute acids on carbonates?

Carbon dioxide

23.What happens when CO2 is passed through lime water?

Lime water turns milky due to the formation of insoluble CaCO3. However, on passing
excess of the gas, milkiness disappears due to the conversion of insoluble calcium
carbonate into soluble calcium bicarbonate, Ca(HCO3)2.

24.Why H2S turns lead acetate paper black?

It is due to the formation of PbS.

25.Why is lime water stored in stoppered bottles?

Lime water reacts with atmospheric CO2 to form insoluble calcium carbonate.

26.Why do barium salts impart colour to flame only after heating for some time?

Barium salts are less volatile.

27.Why the use of platinum wire should be avoided for testing lead salts?
Because lead salts form a brittle alloy with platinum and the wire gets corroded.

28.Why do we add copper chips or paper pellet in cons. H2SO4 acid test for nitrates?
Cu / carbon in the paper readily reduces HNO3, formed in the reaction mixture to
reddish brown NO2 gas

29.Which other wire can be used in the place of platinum wire while performing flame
test?
Nichrome wire

30.What is the cause of formation of brown ring in the test for nitrates?
The brown ring is due to the formation of a complex having the formula,
[Fe(H2O)5NO]SO4
31.Instead of lime water, what we can use for the detection of CO2?
Mg(OH)2 solution
32.In the test for halides with conc. H2SO4, chloride salt forms HCl whereas bromides and
iodides form Br2 and I2 respectively instead of HBr and HI. Why?
Conc. H2SO4 being an oxidising agent oxidises HBr or HI formed to Br2 or I2. In case of
conc. H2SO4 test for chlorides, HCl produced has a higher bond enthalpy and so is not
oxidised to Cl2.
33.Why is freshly prepared FeSO4 solution used for the ring test for nitrates?
FeSO4 solution on keeping is converted into ferric sulphate which is not useful for the
testing of nitrate by ring test. Fe2+ reacts with NO3- to form Fe3+ which in turn reduces
NO3- to NO.

34.Why is dil. H2SO4 preferred over dil. HCl for testing acid radicals?
On adding HCl to the salt, HCl gas is also given out along with the gas evolved by salt.
So it becomes difficult to identify the gas evolved from the salt. With H2SO4, no such
problem arises.
35.Is there any gas other than CO2 which turns lime water milky?
Yes, SO2 gas.
36.CO2 and SO2 both turn lime water milky. How will you distinguish between them?
By passing the gas through acidified K2Cr2O7 solution, SO2 turns K2Cr2O7 green while
CO2 has no effect.
37.Can a paper dipped in AgNO3 be used instead of lead acetate paper for detection of
sulphide?
Yes, a paper dipped in AgNO3 when exposed to vapours of H2S, turns black due to the
formation silver sulphide (Ag2S).

38.Why is an original stock solution prepared for the detection of basic radicals?
The scheme of analysis is based on the characteristics of ions in solution. Therefore for
performing test, the salt is dissolved in a suitable solvent to bring the metallic radicals
in solution.

39.What is a group reagent?

It is a reagent which helps in identifying a group of radicals.

40.What is common ion effect?

The suppression of degree of ionisation of a weak electrolyte by adding a strong
electrolyte having a common ion is known as common ion effect.
41.What is the function of HCl in second group?
HCl creates common ion effect preventing precipitations of group IV cations as their
sulphides along with group II metal sulphides.
42.What is the function of NH4Cl in III group analysis?
NH4Cl prevents the precipitation of cations of subsequent groups as their hydroxides by
suppressing the dissociation of NH4OH by common ion effect.

43.What is the function of NH4OH in fourth group analysis?

It increases the S2- ion conc. in solution by increasing the degree of dissociation of H2S.
Consequently, IV group cations, which have high solubility products of their sulphides,
also get precipitated.
44.Name the radical which is placed in I and II groups. Why?
The salt contains Pb2+. Ksp of PbCl2 and PbS are low.

45.Why do we pass H2S gas in acidic medium for group II?

To create common ion effect which prevents the precipitation of Group 4 cations as
sulphides.

46.What is the function of NH4Cl in analysis of group III?

To create common ion effect which prevents the precipitation of Group 4 cations as
hydroxides.

47.Can NH4Cl be replaced by another ammonium salt in group III?

Yes NH4NO3 can be used because we need only NH4+ ions. However, (NH4)2SO4
cannot be used because it will precipitate V group cations as their sulphates.
48.Can we add NH4OH in group III before adding NH4Cl?
No, then purpose of adding NH4Cl will be defeated as cations of IV, V and VI groups
will also get precipitated along with group III.

49.Can we use NaOH instead of NH4OH in III group?

No, NaOH being a strong base, its ionisation cannot be suppressed by common ion
effect. Moreover, it dissolves precipitate of Al(OH)3.

50.Can we use Na2CO3 as a group reagent instead of (NH4)2CO3 in V group analysis?

No, as Na2CO3 is highly soluble. It causes the precipitation of Mg2+ as MgCO3 by
providing more of CO32- ions.
51.What is the function of NH4OH in group V analysis?
It converts the impurity of ammonium bicarbonate present in ammonium carbonate,
into ammonium carbonate. In its absence, ammonium bicarbonate will change cations
of V group into their bicarbonates which are soluble. Hence, these will not get
precipitated.

52.What is the function of NH4Cl in group V?

To prevent precipitation of Mg2+ as MgCO3 by suppressing the dissociation of
(NH4)2CO3 by common ion effect

53.Why is it essential to boil off H2S from the filtrate of II group before proceeding for the
analysis of III group?
If H2S is not boiled off completely, the cations of group IV will be precipitated as their
sulphides on adding NH4Cl and NH4OH.

54.Sometimes a yellow or white ppt. is obtained in the second group even in the absence of
group II cations. Explain.
Certain oxidising radicals such as nitrate, ferric etc. oxidise H2S to sulphur (light yellow
or white).
55.Why is lead placed both in first as well as in the second group?
This is due to the fact that lead is not completely precipitated in I group as PbCl 2. A part
of it goes into the filtrate meant for group II and is precipitated there as PbS. (Ksp of
PbCl2 and PbS are low)

56.Can conc. HCl be used as group reagent in place of dil.HCl for group I?
No, because PbCl2 dissolves in conc. HCl due to the formation of a complex.

57.Why is acetic acid is used for dissolving group V precipitates?

Acetic acid does not interfere in group V analysis. If dil. H2SO4 is used, it will
precipitate Ba2+ and Sr2+ as their soluble sulphates. On the other hand, if dil. HCl or
HNO3 is used for this purpose, calcium will not be precipitated on adding ammonium
oxalate. This is because calcium oxalate formed is soluble in both dil. HCl and HNO 3.

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