You are cooking spaghetti in water you have salted with NaCl. You notice that when the water boils over, it causes the flame of the gas burner to turn bright orange. How would you explain the appearance of a color in the flame?
2007-02-04 18:14:28 · 2 answers · asked by chelsea_cruz20 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
The high temperature of the gas burner causes the electrons in the sodium atoms to undergo transitions. In other words, the heat causes the electrons to go up in level and when they return to a lower energy level, they emit light, which you can see as a change in the flame color.
2007-02-05 02:10:47 · answer #1 · answered by T.M.I. 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some salts impart colors to flame. This is also a test used to test some salts. Sodium salts impart a yellowish orange color to the flame. Copper salts give a bluish green flame
2007-02-05 02:25:30 · answer #2 · answered by Southpaw 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋