What do I do?
a)Devise a scheme for separating Al(NO3)3, AgNO3, Ca(NO3)2 and KNO3 from each other.
b)How could you isolate KNO3 from the solution in a.?
What aluminum, silver, and calcium salts are insoluble? Given those, could you make those salts by adding the approprate acid?
what do you mean by adding acids?...any acid? will the same acid separate each?
1) Add HCl to precipitate silver ions as AgCl
2) Add H2SO4 to precipitate calcium ions as CaS04
3) Add H3PO4 to precipitate aluminum ions as AlPO4.
4) Evaporate water to get potassium ions.
To devise a scheme for separating Al(NO3)3, AgNO3, Ca(NO3)2, and KNO3 from each other, you need to consider the solubility of their salts and apply appropriate methods.
a) Firstly, you need to determine which salts are insoluble. The solubility rules for common salts state that most nitrates are soluble, and therefore, Al(NO3)3, AgNO3, Ca(NO3)2, and KNO3 are all soluble.
To isolate KNO3 from the solution mentioned in (a), you need to exploit any differences in solubility or reactivity.
b) Since all four salts are soluble, you cannot isolate KNO3 by simply removing the insoluble salts. Instead, you need to employ a different method.
To separate KNO3 from the other three salts, you can utilize the principle of selective precipitation. This involves reacting one of the salts with a specific reagent to precipitate it while leaving the others in solution.
In this case, you can add a reagent that will precipitate one of the other salts while keeping KNO3 in solution. For example, you could add silver nitrate (AgNO3) to the solution. This will cause AgNO3 to react with one of the other salts (e.g., NaCl) to form a solid precipitate (e.g., AgCl) while leaving KNO3 in solution.
Once the precipitate forms, you can separate it from the solution through filtration. The remaining solution will contain KNO3. To obtain solid KNO3, you can evaporate the solvent or use techniques such as crystallization to isolate the compound.
To answer your question about adding acids, not every acid will separate each salt. The solubility and reactivity of salts depend on the specific acid used. For example, hydrochloric acid (HCl) can form insoluble silver chloride (AgCl), while it will not precipitate aluminum or calcium salts.
It's important to consult solubility rules and chemical reactivity data to identify suitable acids or reagents for specific separation processes.