Some fireplace logs (commercially made) burn with a red and/or green flame. Using the information in this experiment, what elements could be responsible for these colored flames?

Because each element has an exactly defined line emission spectrum, scientists are able to identify them by the color of flame they produce. For example, copper produces a blue flame, lithium, and strontium a red flame, calcium an orange flame, sodium a yellow flame, and barium a green flame. When you heat an atom, some of its electrons are "excited* to higher energy levels. When an electron drops from one level to a lower energy level, it emits a quantum of energy. ... The different mix of energy differences for each atom produces different colors. Each metal gives a characteristic flame emission spectrum