On Fri, Jun 20, 2014 at 8:55 AM, Debbie M. Decker <dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu> wrote:

Hi and Hello:

To my distress, I discovered this demonstration is used frequently in my Department. I asked one of my staff to determine a better, safer way to accomplish the demo. She took on this project with gusto and wrote me a very nice report (which will be submitted to JCHAS).

But here's the basic information:

New Instruction 4 - Wooden Applicators Soaked in Saturated Salts Solutions

Saturated salt solutions were prepared according to the table below. See Demo Prep Notebook#1 pg 5 for exact preparation. Note g were added to 250ml DI water (not brought to volume).

	Actual
Salt	g in 250 mL H2O
BaCl2/BaCl2 =E2=80=A2 2H2O	106
CaCl2	190
CuCl2 =E2=80=A2 H2O	288
LiCl	233
KCl	88
NaCl	91
SrCl2	392

Salts solutions were prepared in DI water. Five Wooden applicators were broken in half and placed in a weight boat. The saturated solutions were poured into the weigh boats to cover the applicators. Solutions were allowed to evaporate. Most salt solutions evaporated in 1 week. CaCl₂ and LiCl were still damp after 4 months.

Salts Results:

Barium Chloride BaCl₂*2H₂O (light green) - color flame clearly distinguishable

Calcium Chloride CaCl₂ (orange red) - color flame clearly distinguishable

Copper Chloride CuCl₂ (blue/green) - color flame clearly distinguishable

Lithium Chloride LiCl (fushia flame) - color flame clearly distinguishable

Potassium Chloride KCl (light lilac) - color flame distinguishable (better than any other tested)

Sodium Chloride NaCl (yellow flame) - color flame clearly distinguishable

Strontium Chloride SrCl₂ (red or crimson flame) - color flame clearly distinguishable

Flame Tests were performed on damp CaCl₂ and LiCl. All other salts were dry. Wooden applicators need an additional flame source to burn. Just burning applicators alone did not produce a flame able to be seen from more than a feet away. A Bunsen burner or handheld propane torch were used with similar results. Results were spectacular, even potassium chloride was able to be seen.

--------------------

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Debbie M. Decker, CCHO

Safety Manager

Department of Chemistry

University of California, Davis

122 Chemistry

1 Shields Ave.

Davis, CA 95616

(530)754-7964

(530)304-6728

dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu

Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction

that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions,

can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot."