I am currently working on a metal identification lab, and am having a great deal of trouble with this sample. I have my thoughts about what it can be, but there's many things that negate my thoughts. Perhaps someone can identify the mistake in my thought process or even help me identify this sample. This is my first chemistry class, so please I apologize for any ignorance or stupid mistakes/misconceptions.
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The given possibilities for the metal are:
Aluminum
Magnesium
Tin
Cobalt
Nickel
Titanium
Copper
Palladium
Zinc
Iron
Silicon
Lead
Silver
Nickel
Our sample did not show any magnetic properties, so we eliminated:
Cobalt
Nickel
Iron
Our sample did not react in Hydrochloric Acid, Ammonium Hydroxide, or Sodium Hydroxide (even when heated up over a bunsen burner), so we eliminated:
Magnesium
Tin
Aluminum
Zinc
We eliminated the following metals due to their clear difference in physical characteristics:
Copper
Lead
This leaves us with:
Titanium
Palladium
Silicon
We measured density at least ten times, and got results that ranged from 3.55 to 7.0, but removing those two outliers, the majority of the densities were in the 4's, with an average of 4.7. Since Titanium's density is 4.5, we were near certain it was Titanium, however we are having some problems with this theory:
1) We were able to melt our metal completely over the bunsen burner. Titanium's melting point is 1668C, but our research indicates that bunsen burners only go up to 1200-1400C. Shouldn't that mean that it can't be melted?
2) We were able to flatten our metal samples with a hammer. Perhaps this was because they weren't solid, but actually flakes. None the less, they were generally easy to bend, but also tore very easily. According to our research titanium is not malleable at room temperature. Shouldn't this mean that is is rock solid and can't be manipulated?
3) On only one out of three our trials with HCl, there was a vigorous bubbling reaction. The sample was untouched by sandpaper, though- so perhaps it was the outside coating?