You are given an unknown sample that when treated with hydrochloric acid forms a precipitate. After decantation, you add boiling water to the solid; some of the solid disappears. You decant the solution and add a few drops of K2CrO4; a yellow solid appears. To the solid left from the addition of boiling water, you add ammonium hydroxide and centrifuge the product. You then decant the liquid and add concentrated nitric acid to the solution until acidic; a white precipitate forms.

Which group 1 cations were present in your unknown?

In order to improve results, many different steps can be taken into account. 1) using more precise scales and thermometers is always something that should be considered as being precise means that you are more exact with your answer.2) increasing the sample size should also be considered, if you have a bigger sample size you are able to determine if your results are accurate as well as if there are any variables that should be taken into account plus it assists in the statistical analysis and produces overall better data3) using better handwriting is also a plus, along with organizing the data properly so that others are also able to read the results and even redo the experiment in the future if it is needed.