Spectroscopy

• What is the underlying idea of flame emission spectroscopy?

  Metal ions emit light when heated, with specific wavelengths for each metal
• What is flame emission spectroscopy sometimes called?

  Flame photometry
• How does the flame test work?

  By heating the metal over a Bunsen burner flame and observing the flame color
• What problem does flame emission spectroscopy overcome compared to the flame test?

  It can detect individual wavelengths of light emitted, even with multiple metals
• What does each different metal ion produce in flame emission spectroscopy?

  A unique line spectrum
• How can the intensity of lines on the spectrum be used in flame emission spectroscopy?

  It indicates the concentration of the ion
• What happens when a sample contains multiple different metal ions in flame emission spectroscopy?

  The line spectrum will show the lines for all of them
• How can scientists identify ions in an unknown sample using flame emission spectroscopy?

  By comparing the line spectrum of the unknown sample to standard line spectra
• What do scientists look for to identify the ions present in an unknown sample?

  Metal ions with the same lines as the unknown sample
• What is a key difference between manual tests and instrumental methods like flame emission spectroscopy?

  Instrumental methods are often more accurate and sensitive
• What are the three main benefits of instrumental methods?

  • Very accurate
  • Very sensitive (detect tiny amounts)
  • Very fast (can be automated)
• What is the main advantage of flame emission spectroscopy?

  It can analyze samples with multiple different metal ions
• What can be calculated simultaneously with the identification of ions in flame emission spectroscopy?

  The concentrations of each ion
• How does the line spectrum of a mixed sample appear in flame emission spectroscopy?

  It contains the line spectra for all the ions combined