SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND NATURAL SCIENCES
CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. No parts of this document may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic means, including information
storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.
 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND NATURAL SCIENCES
CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES

Activity 3
GROUP I CATIONS

INTRODUCTION
Positively charged ions are called cations. When a metal loses its electrons, they are created. One
or more electrons are lost by them. It has fewer protons than electrons. They, therefore, carry a net
positive charge. Cations include substances like silver (Ag+), potassium (K+), and hydrogen (H+).

The parent element symbol for the cations is followed by a plus sign (plus) signifying the plus
charge, such as K+ for the potassium cation. Keep in mind that the charge is positioned following the
sign, not before.

METHODOLOGY
MATERIALS AND REAGENTS
Centrifuge Test tubes Beaker
Distilled water Test tube holder Wire gauze
Bunsen burner Tripod Pipette
HCl NH3 K2CrO4

Procedures
A. REACTIONS OF Ag+, Pb2+ , and Hg22+
1. We should wear laboratory gowns at all times in the laboratory to protect our ordinary
clothing from dirt and non-obvious contamination.
2. To begin, label three test tubes as Ag+, Pb2+ and Hg22+, accordingly.
3. In each test tube, place 2 drops of Ag+, Pb 2+, and Hg22+ solutions. Fill each test tube with 5
drops of distilled water. Afterward, using a micro stirring rod, stir to achieve complete
mixing and to avoid spattering.
4. In each test tube, place a drop of 3M HCl.
5. Mix the resultant solutions and centrifuge them to separate the supernatant from the
precipitate. Remove the supernatant and thoroughly wash the precipitate with distilled water.
B. PbCl2 (Lead (II) chloride)
1. After using distilled water to clean the precipitation in the test tube with the designation Pb 2+,
centrifuge and decant the mixture, then discard the decantation.

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 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND NATURAL SCIENCES
CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
2. 20 drops of distilled water are added. Put the test tube in the boiling water bath for at least 2
minutes.
3. To ensure thorough dissolution of the Pb 2+ ion, stir the solution and precipitate on a regular
basis. After adding a drop of 0.1M K 2CrO4 to the solution, a yellow precipitate of PbCrO 4
shows the existence of Pb2+.
C. AgCl and Hg2Cl2
1. Add 10 drops of distilled water to the precipitates in the Ag + and Hg22+ test tubes.
2. After adding 5 drops of concentrated NH 3 to each resulting liquid, stir thoroughly.
Afterwards, centrifuge and decant.
3. If there is precipitate, separate the decant from it. If the precipitate is gray or black in color,
the presence of Hg22+ is confirmed.
4. Add conc. to a test tube containing Ag+. One drop of HNO 3 is added to the decantate at a
time. If a white precipitate appears, Ag+ is present.
D. Chromates salts of Ag+ and Pb2+
PbCrO4 was the yellow pigment used in paints for a long time. Of course, they no longer utilize that.
Follow this simple method to learn how to manufacture yellow PbCrO4.
1. Place 5 drops Pb2+ in small test tube.
2. Add 5 drops 0.1M or 1M K2CrO4
The chromate salt of Ag+ is not as intriguing as the chromate salt of Pb 2+. Later in your career,
though, you will come across Ag 2CrO4 in a procedure known as the Mohr Method. Duplicate the previous
experiment, except this time use Ag+ instead of Pb2+.

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storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.
 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND NATURAL SCIENCES
CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
A. Reactions of Ag+, Pb2+, and Hg22+

Cations Chemical Added Observation

Ag+ HCl White precipitate of AgCl

formed

Pb2+ HCl White precipitate of PbCl2

formed

Hg2 HCl Turned white when HCl is

added

Test for completeness of precipitation by adding 3M HCl drop by drop until no more observable
reactions can be seen

Ag+ HCl Precipitation complete, no

further white precipitate is
formed

Pb2+ HCl Precipitation complete, no

further precipitate is formed

Hg2 HCl Precipitation complete, no

further precipitate is formed

The table presented above contains notable observations of the precipitate which formed after the
three sample cations was introduced to drops of HCl, including when it first formed and when the
Precipitation was complete.
B. PbCl2

Cations Chemical Added Observation

Pb2+ K2CrO4 Yellow precipitate of PbCrO4

formed

The table above presents the observation that occurred when the K 2CrO4 was added to the solution,
this formed a yellow precipitate which is a marker that confirms the presence of Pb 2+

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storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.
 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND NATURAL SCIENCES
CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES

C. AgCl and Hg2Cl2

Cations Chemical Added Observation

Ag+ NH3 White precipitate of AgCl

formed

Hg2 NH3 White precipitate of Hg2Cl2

formed, turned gray after
centrifuging, confirming the
presence of Hg2

Ag+ HNO3 White precipitate of AgCl

formed, confirming presence of
Ag+

The table presented above contains the results from the experiment which confirms the presences of
certain cations, refer to the table for details regarding the precipitate.
D. Chromates salts of Ag+ and Pb2+

Cations Chemical Observations Chemical Equation

Added

Pb2+ K2CrO4 Yellow precipitate of PbC l 2+ K 2 Cr O 4 → PbCr O4 +2 KCl

PbCrO4 formed

Ag+ K2CrO4 Brown precipitate of AgCl+ K 2 Cr O4 → A g2 Cr O4 + KCl

Ag2CrO4 formed

The table above lists the ingredients, observations, and chemical equations that was associated
with making PbCrO4 and Ag2CrO4 respectively.

CONCLUSION
Group I cations can be quantitatively identified by their precipitate or through the reactions of
their decantate to different reagents. Most of the chemical reactions that happened in this experiment
exhibited a double replacement reaction.

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 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND NATURAL SCIENCES
CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
REFERENCES
Cations are often divided into six classes based on their features. A common reagent that each
group shares can be used to separate them from the solution (King, 1959). The group I cations are the
only common cations that form insoluble precipitates when reacted with chloride. Therefore, they can be
removed as a group from solution by the addition of HCl (Qualitative Analysis of Group I Cations-the
Silver Group Pre-Lab Assignment, n.d.).
References
King, E. J. (1959). Qualitative Analysis and Electrolytic Solutions. In Google Books. Harcourt, Brace.
https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Qualitative_Analysis_and_Electrolytic_So/
zikLAAAAIAAJ?hl=en
‌Qualitative Analysis of Group I Cations-The Silver Group Pre-Lab Assignment. (n.d.). Retrieved March
15, 2023, from
http://www.chemistrylabmanual.com/uploads/2/5/6/1/25614215/group1.pdf#:~:text=Qualitative
%20analysis%20is%20a%20branch%20of%20analytical%20chemistry

‌
‌

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storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author, except by reviewers, who may quote brief passages in a review.
 SAINT MARY’S UNIVERSITY
Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
SCHOOL OF HEALTH AND NATURAL SCIENCES
CENTER FOR NATURAL SCIENCES
DOCUMENTATION‌

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