The aim of this investigation is to analyse what cations and anions are present in Mummion a preservative for mummies

Authors Avatar by sashakw (student)

Name: Sasha Westfield                                                                                        Unit: Science at work G621

Class code: VSS6                                                                                                   Assignment Objective: AO3

A Preservative for mummies

Introduction

The aim of this investigation is to analyse what cations and anions are present in Mummion, I will investigate this by doing two types of tests. Mummion is an inorganic solid that is obtained from dried up lake beds, Mummion was used by Egyptians to mummify dead bodies, they would treat the body with a natural occurring preservative which is known as Mummion. An Archaeologist would most likely want to investigate Mummion because they would want to know more about this substance or replicate it.

First Test

Flame test procedure

To find the cations present in mummion I will be carrying out a flame test. I will need the following equipment:

Bunsen burner

Hydrochloric acid

Heat proof mat

Nichrome rod

Goggles

Lab coat

Samples of metal ions

First, I need to clean the nichrome rod by dipping it in hydrochloric acid.

 I will then test the cleanliness of the Nichrome rod by inserting it into a gas flame

Once the rod is clean I will then choose one of the metal ion samples by adding a bit to the nichrome rod.

 I will then place it into the blue gas flame to see what colour it obtains.

I will eventually repeat the first 3 steps till I have tested all the metal ion samples.

Once I’ve finished these steps I will put my results in a table

Results Table

Risk assessment

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Analysis

I found that sodium was present in the Mummion crystals. I came to this decision by doing a flame test which showed sodium as the colour orange. I tested the Mummion crystals with the flame test and it gave me the colour orange and by testing all the chemicals I had I came to a decision that sodium was the cations in the Mummion crystals.

 Evaluation

I can’t be very certain that sodium is present in the Mummion because we didn’t test every chemical possible. This has a huge impact on my final analysis because ...

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