CHEM 1B
Dr. R. Rinehart

An Adventure in Six Bottles:
Introduction to Qualitative Analysis

The Case of the Five Droppers: the classic "five bottles" experiment
by Gary L. Bertrand at the University of Missouri-Rolla
http://web.umr.edu/~gbert/droppers/droppers.html
A conceptually similar interactive simulated experiment using a different selection of reagents
Five Unlabelled Bottles by Robert L. Carter et al at the University of Massachusetts, Boston
http://www.chem.umb.edu/chemistry/genchem/CH103/Night103/103Lab/6fiveunlabeledbottlesrev.pdf

results for known solutions [sets A through F]

solution

HNO3

HCl

AgNO3

CaCl2

NaCl

Na2CO3

HNO3

 

N.R.

N.R.

N.R.

N.R.

bubbles

HCl

 

 

white ppt

N.R.

N.R.

bubbles

AgNO3

 

 

 

white ppt

white ppt

ppt, becomes black with time

CaCl2

 

 

 

 

N.R.

white ppt

NaCl

 

 

 

 

 

N.R.

Na2CO3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

results for known solutions [sets U through Z]

solution

AgNO3

CuSO4

CuCl2

NaOH

Ba(NO3)2

HCl

AgNO3

 

you may or may not see slight ppt

white ppt (faint blue tinge)

white ppt, turns black very quickly

N.R.

white ppt

CuSO4

 

 

N.R.

blue ppt

white ppt

N.R.

CuCl2

 

 

 

blue ppt

N.R.

N.R.

NaOH

 

 

 

 

N.R.

appears to be N.R.
[but we know better, don't we!]

Ba(NO3)2

 

 

 

 

 

N.R.

HCl