Australia's Science Forum

hi all,

I have a jar of Barium Sulphate, labelled before my time, is there a simple way of checking if it is what the label says it is?????
A teacher used some in a flame test but she said it didn't turn the colour it should have................from memory I think she said it should have had a yellow flame, but actually had an orange/red flame.
TIA
Helen

I just googled it. Barium should have a yellow-green or lime green flame. There are also tests you can do to determine the presence of barium and sulfate ions. I"d probably just mark it for disposal (although even that is dodgy if you're not sure what it is!). Good luck.

Thanks Marama T

When in doubt, chuck it out! Well, at least put it aside for your next chemical waste collection. Mark the label with "unknown chemical NOT as labelled" or something similar.

thanks Merilyn