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Identification of the Thief Through Chromatography

Max Kazan
Period 9
Thomas Burke
22 September 2020

Purpose
The objective of this lab was to determine the thief of Mrs. Murray’s hamster. The thief left a
note written in pen for Mrs. Murray. The thief could be determined by comparing ink from each
science teacher’s pen to the ink left by the kidnapper through chromatography.

Materials:
Equipment: Chemicals:
Pen from each of the 5 science teachers Water/solvent
Chromatography Paper Ethanol
250mL Beaker
Watch glass
Ruler
Paper towel

Procedure
There were four pieces of chromatography paper that were about 9cm long with ink on
them. Two of them had one ink dot on the starting line, which was written in pencil, 1cm up the
paper, the other two had four dots. The 250mL beaker was filled with 20mL of solvent/water.
The paper with four dots was put into the beaker, dotted side down with the dots above the water,
and a watch glass was put over the top. Then, the ink streaked up the paper until it was 2cm
below the top of the paper when it was taken out. The length of the streak was measured and
recorded into the appropriate chromatograph. Then these steps were repeated with the other
paper with four dots, except it was put into ethanol instead of water. After it streaked and the
measurements were records into the chromatograph, these two procedures of putting the paper
into water and ethanol was done exactly the same with the two pieces of paper with one dot each.
Then the Rf value of each streak was calculated. This meant measuring the length of the
individual colors in each streak and dividing it by the total length. This was to be done so the
exact similarities of the mystery pen’s ink and one of the known pen’s ink could be determined.

Data
Table 1: Mr. Yak
Rf Water (cm) Color Rf Ethanol (cm) Color
0 Black 3/4 gray
1 dark blue

Table 2: Mrs. Steininger

RF Water (cm) Color Rf Ethanol (cm) Color
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2/3 White ½ Light Blue

5/6 Red 1 Blue
1 Blue
Table 3: Miss Miller
Rf Water (cm) Color Rf Ethanol (cm) Color
1/2 Pink 1/4 Gray/yellow
2/3 Yellow ¾ Light purple
1 Blue 1 Dark Blue
Table 4: Miss Goodwin
Rf Water (cm) Color Rf Ethanol (cm) Color
0 Black 0 Black
Table 5: Crime Scene Evidence-Code # 9
Rf Water (cm) Color Rf Ethanol (cm) Color
½ Pink 1/4 Gray/Yellow
2/3 Yellow ¾ Light Purple
1 Blue 1 Dark Blue

Calculations
R f =Distance component ( ink ) moved ¿ starting point ¿
Distance solvent has moved (the solvent front )

Ex. Mr. Yak’s Rf Ethanol value for the color gray

R f =3 cm ¿ starting point ¿ point where ¿ most ¿ ¿ starting point ¿ solvent front ¿

4 cm¿
3
Rf=
4

Conclusion
Miss Miller is the thief who stole Mrs. Murray’s hamster. The pen ink from the crime
scene is identical to that of Miss Miller’s pen, which is evident when comparing tables 3 and 5.
The Rf values for both water and ethanol are the same on every level, as well as the colors on
each streak. This means Miss Miller is the thief for a couple reasons. It is highly unlikely that it
is coincidence that their results are exactly the same. This is further supported since no other
teacher comes even close to the evidence from the crime scene. The other tables, including tables
1, 2, and 4, don’t have even close to corresponding colors or Rf values to table 5.

Discussion of Theory
The Rf value depends on the which teacher’s pen is being tested. That makes the Rf value
the dependent variable and the type of pen ink the independent variable. The constants in the
experiment include the beaker, the chromatography paper, and the measurement in centimeters.
The control group in the experiment is the mystery pen and its chromatograph results.
The way chromatography works is simple. Once the paper is put into water, the colors of
the pigment will carry up the paper as a result of capillary action, which is basically water’s
ability to flow without the assistance of gravity. The reason why chromatography works so well
and is a good technique to use such as in this experiment, is because each components of the
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pigment travel at a different speed. This means they separate on the paper, and you can visibly
identify each component because of their corresponding color. The results in this particular lab
occurred as they did because the thief’s pen ink and Miss Miller’s pen ink are made up of the
same components. All of the pens might have all looked exactly the same before the experiment,
but chromatography is able to take a deeper look into the fine details that make up the pen to
accurately identify the thief (Ask a Scientist Staff, 2019).
One of the things that can be learned from this experiment is how this is only one
technique of chromatography. There are multiple other ways this experiment could be conducted
using the same principles. One of these ways is gas chromatography, which dissolves the sample
into water and evaporates into a gas, where it would then separate the components similar to
paper chromatography (Separation Techniques, n.d.). These different techniques to separate
compounds are important methods to understand because it can help further the understanding of
how things in the world are made up. Chromatography gives scientists the ability to separate and
analyze these things to reach a better understanding of the tiny components of the world
(Chromatography, n.d.).

Experimental Sources of Error

Better precision could have been obtained from this experiment in a few small instances.
It begins with when the paper is partly submerged into the solvent. Better precision could have
been obtained if the paper was not at an angle, and also if it wasn’t being moved around so
much. This may have caused a disruption in the separation of the pigment, which wouldn’t be a
large change. Nonetheless, it is still very important to be as precise as possible. This is also the
case when measuring the length of each pigment. This was done quickly to move through the
experiment as fast as possible, and in further experiments it would be wiser to be more tedious in
measurements to be more precise.

Question Answers
Not just in the ethanol chromatographs, but also in the water chromatographs blue
appears more than once. This would imply that the compound that gives the color is always the
same in each chromatograph. All of the pens except for Mr. Yak’s pen seem to contain common
pigments because each has common colors. They would have to be the same pigment because
there simply is no other explanation.
The methods of separating the components of mixtures rely on the differences in physical
properties and not chemical properties because only physical changes occur. The appearance and
color, both physical properties, change, but there are no chemical changes.
The beaker needs to be covered with a watch glass because not having it could a have an
effect on the outcome of the experiment. The water is rising up the paper, and if not for the
watch glass the solvent would be evaporating. That clearly would either slow down the reaction
or even change the results.
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References
Ask A Scientist Staff. (2019, October 17). What is chromatography and how does it work? Ask a
Scientist. https://www.thermofisher.com/blog/ask-a-scientist/what-is-chromatography/
Chromatography. (n.d.). Science
Olympiad. https://www.soinc.org/sites/default/files/uploaded_files/forensics/For_Chroma
tograph
Separation techniques: Chromatography. (n.d.). PubMed Central
(PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5206469/