Salt Analysis - Practice Questions & MCQ

Systematic analysis of an inorganic salt involves the following steps: 

(i) Preliminary examination of solid salt and its solution. 

(ii) Determination of anions by reactions carried out in solution (wet tests) and confirmatory tests. 

(iii) Determination of cations by reactions carried out in solution (wet tests) and confirmatory tests. 

Preliminary examination of a salt often gives important information, which simplifies further course of analysis. Although the results of these tests are not conclusive but sometimes they give quite important clues for the presence of certain anions or cations. These tests can be performed within a few minutes. These involve noting the general appearance and physical properties, such as colour, smell, solubility etc. of the salt. Heating of dry salt, blowpipe test, flame tests, borax bead test, sodium carbonate bead test, charcoal cavity test etc. come under dry tests.

Gases evolved in the preliminary tests with dil. H₂SO₄/dil. HCl and conc. H₂SO₄ also give good indication about the presence of acid radicals. Preliminary tests should always be performed before starting the confirmatory tests for the ions.