Identifying unknown chemical compounds

1. Taste test

1.1. Could be unsafe if chemical compounds are toxic and it’s also hard to determine what it may be using only sense of taste

1.1.1. unsafe

2. smell test

2.1. Could also be a risk and unsafe to inhale, hard to determine chemicals just using sense of smell as well.

2.1.1. unsafe

3. melting point

3.1. Good experiment to do however the correct equipment is not available to reach very high melting points.

3.1.1. equipment unavailable

3.1.2. expensive

4. flame test

4.1. A practical experiment to conduct and materials required are available. Some substances do not emit any colours so this experiment could fail if the wrong substances are tested.

4.1.1. equipment is available

4.1.2. it can be successfully conducted within the amount of time available

5. density

5.1. Density test is easy to conduct however it is difficult to be able to easily determine which substance is what because the masses are all very similar

5.1.1. equipment available

5.1.2. inexpensive

5.1.3. can be successfully conducted within the amount of time available

5.1.4. reasonably easy to do

5.1.5. safe

6. Electrical conductivity

6.1. A great option because it can only result in two options, making it an effective method to use when trying to identify the chemical compounds

6.1.1. equipment is available

6.1.2. can be successfully conducted within the amount of time available

6.1.2.1. 10-15 minutes

6.1.3. reasonably easy to do

6.1.3.1. reasonable easy to do

7. solubility

7.1. Simple test to conduct and the materials are available in a school lab, however it doesn’t give a lot of data to be able to easily differentiate between the unknown compounds

7.1.1. available equipment

7.1.2. can be done at school

7.1.3. easy to do