Identifying 9 white solids using chemical reagents

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bhajack
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Chemicals
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
3 replies · 3K views
Bhajack
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
I have 9 white solids which i need to identify. Aluminium ocide (Al2O3), Calcium Oxide (CaO), Sodium dithionite (Na2S2O4), aluminium sulphate ( Al2(SO4)3 ), Ammonium sulphate (NH4)2SO4, calcium nitrate ( Ca(NO3)2 ), Magnesium sulphate (MgSO4), sodium carbonate (Na2CO3), Sodium thiosulphate (Na2S2O3), Zinc carbonate (ZnCO3).

The reagents i have are: water, Hydrochloric acid, sulphuric acid, silver nitrate solution, ammonium hydroxide and barium chloride.

Any ideas on how to single a few out would be greatly appreciated!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Welcome to PF;
You want to start by fuguring what the reactions of each of them with each of the reagents would be.
i.e. do any of them look like they should dissolve in water?
 
I find sometimes it is easiest to turn this into a branching diagram. You keep creating new branches until you are left with the one compound. Like Simon said, find out what they react with and go from there. Your first branch could be "Does it dissolve in water".
 
A lot of those compounds are in materials databases - you can look up how they react with the different reagents.
Then it's mostly an exercise in logic.

Since it's been almost a month without feedback I guess the exercise is over and I wasn't really all that much help.