Analysis/Conclusion:

The purpose of this lab was to identify the unknown cations present in a mixture of solutions. A set of reactions was performed in order to identify the unknown cations. At the conclusion of this lab, the unknown was identified as silver, by comparing it to the given cation flowchart. Upon completing procedure one, it was clear that ammonia was not present in the unknown. During procedure 2, silver and lead were separated as chlorides, and silver was then separated from lead in procedure 3. Then, during procedure 4, a precipitate was formed after adding HCl. This formation showed that unknown may have been silver. The non-formation of a precipitate in procedure 5 ruled out the presence of lead. Procedure 6 showed that the unknown could not be a solid, eliminating the possibilities of Ni, Mn, and Fe. Procedures 7-10 were not performed, for there was no precipitate formed in procedure 6, leaving no supernatant or precipitate for later procedures. Procedures 11 and 12 ruled out the presence of aluminum, thus identifying the unknown as silver.

As in all labs, the possibility for error was inevitable. For example, if the correct amount of the various solutions were not added during each procedure, the entire lab would be flasafied. The incorrect addition of any solution would ruin the accuracy of the various tests, and thus would make it impossible to identify the unknown. In the furture, I would implement more trials, in order to achieve more plentiful and accurate data.