Chromatography

Cards (26)

  • What does chromatography literally mean?
    Color writing
  • What is chromatography used for?
    To separate materials in a mixture
  • How does chromatography work in different labs?
    It works the same in school and professional labs
  • What are the two phases in chromatography?
    Mobile phase and stationary phase
  • What determines how components in a mixture separate during chromatography?
    Affinity for stationary or mobile phase
  • What is the stationary phase used in this chromatography experiment?
    Paper
  • How far from the base should the baseline be drawn?
    About 2 centimeters
  • Why do we use pencil to draw the baseline in chromatography?
    Pencil colors do not dissolve in mobile phase
  • How many food colorings are used in this experiment?
    Four food colorings
  • What are the known food coloring colors used in the experiment?
    Blue, yellow, and red
  • What is the purpose of the capillary tube in the experiment?
    To suck up and place the coloring
  • How should the dots of food coloring be applied to the baseline?
    Lightly and allowed to dry in between
  • Why is it important to use a different capillary tube for each color?
    To avoid cross-contamination of colors
  • What is the mobile phase used in this chromatography experiment?
    Water
  • How does the mobile phase move in chromatography?
    By capillary action up the paper
  • What happens to the colors in the food dye during chromatography?
    They either dissolve in water or stay on paper
  • How long should the chromatography be left in the solvent?
    About 15 minutes
  • What does the pencil line near the top of the paper indicate?
    The distance the water traveled
  • How can you visually identify the components of the unknown food coloring?
    By comparing it to known colors
  • What does the RF value represent in chromatography?
    Retention factor of the colors
  • How is the RF value calculated?
    Distance color traveled divided by solvent distance
  • What is the distance the solvent traveled in the example?
    101 millimeters
  • What is the distance the yellow color traveled in the example?
    20 millimeters
  • What is the RF value for the yellow color?
    201010.198\frac{20}{101} \approx 0.198
  • What RF value was calculated for the blue color?
    85
  • What RF value was calculated for the purple color?
    63