[idontunderstandthis]

Recently my chemistry teacher gave me an assignment.
We had to get an unknown substance. I got unknown substance P.

It was a blue solution. Therefore it was copper.
I did a flame test to confirm it. The flame turned green.
My friend (dont ask how he knows) knows that it must be copper sulphate or copper chloride.
I'm not so sure.

---Chemicals available---
1. Silver nitrate
2. Nitric acid
3. Hydrochloric acid
4. Barium chloride
5. Ammonium molybdate
6. Sulphuric acid
7. Potassium thiocyanate
8. Sodium oxalate
9. Sodium hydroxide

They are all diluted to 0.1M.


Can anyone help with this?

[Arkcon]

Other chemicals give a green flame test.  And they are sometimes instructed to put blue food coloring in your test samples, to throw you off.

[Borek]

Assuming it is copper sulfate - what will happen when you will mix it with each of the reagents you can use? Think in terms of precipitates and color changes.

[chiralic]

On these links you find information about Flame Test:

http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa110401a.htm

Regards,

Chiralic