Flame test facts for kids
A flame test is a cool science experiment that helps scientists figure out what kinds of metals are in a special substance. It's often used to find tiny amounts of certain metals hidden inside a chemical compound (that's just a fancy name for a substance made of different chemicals joined together). When you heat a tiny bit of this substance in a flame, it can make the flame change to a bright, special color. Each metal makes a unique color! Scientists can even use special tools to look at the flame's spectrum (like a rainbow of light) to learn even more about the metal.
Lots of different metals create their own special flame colors. This happens because of tiny particles called electrons inside the metal's atoms. When the atoms get hot, their electrons get super excited and jump to higher energy levels (like jumping up a ladder!). But they can't stay there forever, so they quickly fall back down, releasing energy as light – and that's the color you see!
-
Flame test for potassium
-
Flame test for calcium
-
Flame test for zinc oxide on a kitchen stove
-
Flame test for sodium. The yellow color is very bright and common.
-
Flame test for copper
-
Flame test for lithium
Cool Science Connections
More Images
-
A flame test showing the presence of Lithium.
-
Coloured flames of methanol solutions of different compounds, burning on cotton wool. From left to right: lithium chloride, strontium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium chloride, barium chloride, trimethyl borate, copper chloride, cesium chloride and potassium chloride.
See also
In Spanish: Ensayo a la llama para niños
