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Chemistry · L3 · Spotting the transition-metal pattern in an unknown sample

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A simple decision flow for guessing whether an unlabeled compound is a main-group or transition metal, based only on its color and whether the same metal shows more than one color.

by @openstemUpdated Chemistry
Unlabeled colored solutionor solid compoundIs it vividly colored,or white / colorless?Likely a main-group metalcompound (e.g. NaCl, MgO, KNO₃)Likely a transition metalcompound (e.g. CuSO₄, KMnO₄, FeCl₃)Does the SAME metalappear in different colorsin different compounds?Strong evidence of multipleoxidation states(e.g. pale green Fe²⁺ vsyellow-brown Fe³⁺)Compare against areference table ofknown compoundsWhite / colorlessVividly coloredYesNot sure yet

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