[RosiesStudent]

When doing a flame test lab with a clean metal rod that has been cleaned with HCl then water, would the metal or the Cl be responsible for a change in color (an orange color) in the flame?

[Mitch]

no

[DarkMetalDragon]

I'm not the smartest tool in the shed when it comes to chemistry, but I'll pose this question for you to think about.

If the metal that you used for the lab was clean, then how would it affect its color?

Or also maybe think about, what if you used other metals instead of what you were using? Would that change the color of the flame? If the answer is no, then what could?

Hope this helps.

[hmx9123]

One last piece of information to keep in mind is that sodium is EVERYWHERE.  It contaminates EVERYTHING.  Unless you were meticulous in keeping your metal rod clean, you may still see some residual sodium (i.e., an orange flame test) on it.