Practical

Chromatography (Teacher sheet)

AQA specification reference – 3.5.2 Separating mixtures

Aim
Separate ingredients from mixtures using appropriate techniques such as
chromatography.

Apparatus
 Chromatography paper
 Safety pin
 Boiling tube
 Test tube rack
 Water
 Coloured pens

Technical information
 Coloured markers work well in this investigation (brown is often a good colour to
use). Trial the experiment first to ensure the markers produce good results in the
time available.
 Different groups could use different colours of pen and compare the results.
 The paper can also be suspended from a splint placed across the top of the boiling
tube rather than a bung.
 Results may be improved if the ink spot is allowed to dry for a short time before
being place in the water, this could be speeded up by the students blowing on it.
 This experiment is a good opportunity for students to devise their own results
table, an example is shown below

Colour Distance travelled (cm)

AQA KS3 Science © Hodder & Stoughton 2017 1

Practical

 The students should remove the chromatography paper from the boiling tube
before the solvent front reaches the top of the paper.
 A fun parallel investigation can be carried out by placing an M&M or Smartie at
the centre of a round piece of paper of filter paper, pipetting water or a solvent
onto it and observing the patterns produced by the colourings.
 As an extension activity, pupils could calculate the Rf (retention factor) values of
the different colours using the following equation:

distance moved by ink spot

Rf =
distance moved by solvent front (water)

Risk assessment
There are no specific hazards in this investigation.

Questions
1 The most soluble colour will be whichever colour travelled the furthest up the
paper.

2 The water will dissolve the ink before it has chance to travel up the paper,
affecting the results.

3 The water may soak into the paper and start moving through it, possibly effecting
the movement of the ink.

AQA KS3 Science © Hodder & Stoughton 2017 2