The diagram shows three test tubes; the colour of each aqueous solution is written inside the tube and its name is beneath. Which solution contains a transi...
Question 1 Report
The diagram shows three test tubes; the colour of each aqueous solution is written inside the tube and its name is beneath. Which solution contains a transition-element compound?
Answer Details
Transition elements form coloured compounds because their ions have a partly filled d sub-shell that absorbs some wavelengths of visible light. Compounds of Group I and Group II metals are normally white solids that give colourless solutions.
In the diagram the only coloured solution is the blue one, labelled copper(II) sulfate, so that is the tube containing a transition-element compound. Copper is in the transition block and aqueous Cu2+ ions are blue.
Sodium chloride and potassium nitrate are drawn as colourless because sodium and potassium are Group I metals with no partly filled d sub-shell. Choosing all three ignores the evidence in the diagram. Use the colour written in each tube as the deciding data rather than the familiarity of the name.
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