Determination of Cations & Anions Inquiry Guidance & AP* Chem Curriculum Alignment Transition Guide

Much of laboratory chemistry is focused on the question of how much of a given substance is contained in a sample. Sometimes, however, the focus shifts to what substances are in the sample, rather than their quantity. The purpose of qualitative analysis is to identify a series of either cations or anions in a solution through a sequence of chemical reactions and separation procedures.