Weigh to the nearest 0.001 g, 5 g of the prepared sample, place it in a 400 ml beaker, add carefully 5 ml hydrochloric acid (3. 1) (there may be a vigorous reaction due to carbon dioxide formation). Add more hydrochloric acid, if necessary. When effervescence has stopped, evaporate to dryness on a steam bath, stirring occasionaly with a glass rod. Add 15 ml 6 N hydrochloric acid solution (3.2) and 120 ml water. Stir with the glass rod, which should be left in the beaker, and cover the beaker with a watch glass. Boil the solution gently until dissolution appears complete and then filter through a filter paper15 into a 250 ml graduated flask. Wash the beaker and filter with 5 ml of hot 6 N hydrochloric acid solution (3.2) and twice with boiling water. Cool and make up to the mark with water. (The hydrochloric acid concentration of this solution should be about 0.5 N.)

Weigh to the nearest 0.001 g, 5 g of the prepared sample into a silica or platinum crucible and place the crucible in a cold muffle furnace. Close the furnace and gradually raise the temperature to 450-475° over about 90 minutes. Maintain this temperature for at least 16 hours and then open the furnace and allow the crucible to cool. Moisten the ash with water and transfer it into a 250 ml beaker. Wash the crucible with about 5 ml hydrochloric acid (3.1) and add the latter slowly and carefully to the beaker (there may be a vigorous reaction due to carbon dioxide formation). If necessary, add more hydrochloric acid (3.1) with stirring, until all effervescence has stopped.

• Evaporate the solution to dryness, occasionally stirring with a glass rod. Add 15 ml 6 N hydrochloric acid solution (3.2) and 120 ml water. Stir with the glass rod, which should be left in the beaker, and cover with a watch glass. Boil the solution gently until dissolution appears complete and filter through a filter paper16 into a 250 ml graduated flask. Wash the beaker and filter with 5 ml of hot 6 N hydrochloric acid solution (3.2) and twice with boiling water. Cool and make up to the mark with water. (The hydrochloric acid concentration of this solution should be about 0.5 N.)

Dilute the sample solutions (6.1.1 or 6.1.2) and the blank test solution (6.2) with 0.5 N hydrochloric acid solution (3.3) to a concentration within the optimal measuring range of the spectrophotometer. The final solution must contain 10% (V/V) of the lanthanum chloride solution (3.6).

By diluting the standard solution (3.5.2) with 0.5 N hydrochloric acid solution (3.3) prepare at least 5 standard solutions of increasing concentration corresponding to the optimal measuring range of the spectrophotometer. The final solutions must contain 10% (V/V) of the lanthanum chloride solution (3.6).