Spectroscopic Investigation of Metals in Solution

Spectroscopy is the study of how electrons interact with light in specific ways. For
instance, when exited, the electron cloud of a Hydrogen atom will shift into a state of higher
energy. However, this new state is unstable and will collapse back to the lowest state. It is like
walking down stairs. Sometimes you walk, but sometimes you just want to jump. When you
jump, the photon emitted has a higher wavelength and therefore a higher energy. When the
cloud collapses, it releases a photon. This new model of the atom, called the Schrdinger or
Quantum Mechanical model, may be unfamiliar to you (unless you are Steve and grading this
paper. I hope Steve knows what it is, because he is the one who taught us what it is...). The
more widely used, but inaccurate model is the Bohr. The Bohr is the model in which the
electrons orbit the nucleus of the atom at a fixed speed and distance from the nucleus. When
exited the electron would jump to a higher orbit. However, in the Schrdinger model, the
electron's exact location is not known. Instead, the electrons location is represented with a
probability cloud and the electron doesnt have an orbit but has an orbital. Because each
elements cloud is different, their spectra are different. This means that if you find a new
spectrum, you have found a new element. To measure spectra, you use an instrument called a
spectroscope. A spectroscope magnifies and focuses (like a camera, not a magnifying glass)
the light from a source. The source will give off different wavelengths of light depending on the
atoms present. It works using a thing called a prism. The longer the wavelength, the less the
light bends and the more violet it is, the more it bends. This results in a rainbow. The light hits
the prism through a tiny slit in the instrument. This reduces the amount of noise and focuses the
rainbow into spectral lines.
Discussion 1
I believe that Chlorine was in the first unknown, bit with a mediocre amount of certainty.
There were many solutions that burned the same color as the unknown, orange. However, most
of these compounds contained Chlorine. I believe that Potassium and Chlorine were present in
the second unknown because KCl was the only compound that burned the same color as
Unknown 2, pink. Quite frankly, I do not know what else it could be. I believe that the anions
determine the color of the flame with notable exceptions. Most of the solutions with Chlorine
burned orange. SrCl2, CuCl2, and LiCl, however burned other colors.
Discussion 2
I can say with 90% certainty that the Unknown 3 was SrCl2+KCl for two reasons.
The first was that a spectroscope was used so the possibility of people seeing different colours
is eliminated. the second is the values we pulled from the instrument. Here are some images.

Fig. 1

Fig. 2

Fig. 3
Figure 1 shows the spectrum of Unknown 3. From left to right the peaks are as follows:
605.7 nm. 670.8 nm. 683 nm. and 772.3 nm. Figure 2 shows the spectrum of SrCl2. From left to
right the peaks are as follows: 590 nm. 605.7 nm. 670.8 nm. 683 nm. Figure 3 shows the
spectrum of KCl. The peaks are as follows: 589.2 nm. 773.1 nm. I think the smaller wavelengths
not shown in Unknown 3s spectrum are washed out. The peaks show up exactly where the
substances emission lines exist.
Discussion 3
My group found that element A was Hydrogen due to the fact that the spectra matched
except for the red line at 656 nm. Our group said that element B was Mercury but I disagree.
Element C was Helium, even though we did not see all the lines. The lines we did see matched
nicely. However, when looking through the spectroscope, you can not see the entire spectra of
the atom because uv and ir are not seen by the human eye. A spectrophotometer was used in
the discovery of an element called Cesium. It was discovered in Durkheim Mineral water. When
the water was purified, Cesiums spectrum showed up. This begs the question whether an
elements spectra can be viewed if it it is a molecule, or if the molecule just shows up. As it turns
out, the entire molecule shows up, which can be very useful in astronomy and astrobiology.
Honors
When Cassini was launched in 1997, it contained a small lander called Huygens, a
bunch instruments, including a few spectrometers. If my understanding of the research I have
conducted is correct, these spectrometers were a few of the tools used to discover the
compositions of the atmospheres of Saturns moons. However, spectrometers here on earth
have discovered the element Sodium in the atmospheres of some extrasolar planets. Water,
CO2, Methane, and CO. Now to leave you with a question. What if you could use spectrography
to date a planets atmosphere?