GENERAL CHEMISTRY 1: PAPER CHROMATOGRAPHY

WORKSHEET WITH ANSWER

Objectives: 1. To describe how paper chromatography works.

2. To identify which liquid will best separate the components of the markers.

Materials: 2pcs. binder clips/clothespin 2pcs. 250-mL (approx.) clear glass, ruler, black, blue, red ball pens/felt
tip pens, 2 pcs. Sticks or new pencils, rubbing alcohol, water, filter papers/ paper towel.
PROCEDURE

1. Cut the paper into three strips, measuring 2 inches by 8 inches each.
2. Using the black, blue and red pens, draw dots on one end of each of the two strips of paper. All six dots
should be the same size.
3. Attach each strip to a pencil/stick by the unmarked end, forming a “T” shape. Lay each pencil on the
rim of a glass such that the marked ends of the strips almost touch the bottom. Adjust the strips if
needed.
4. Pour one liquid into each glass until it just barely touches the tip of the paper. Do not submerge the
paper in the liquid.
5. Observe what happens. Record your observations.

DATA AND OBSERVATIONS

Observation on Chromatography Using the Following Solvents
Water
The solvent, the water seeps up
the paper. Over time, the black and
blue colored ink dot neither move
on the baseline nor dissolve.
However, with the red-colored ink,
its somehow dissolves but not that
much compared to the colored ink
dot in the alcohol.
Alcohol
The solvent, the rubbing alcohol,
seeps up the paper. Over time, the
three different colored ink dots,
black, blue, and red, dissolve in
alcohol and travel up at different
rates. The red-colored ink traveled
the most distance among the
three, followed by blue and black
ink.

QUESTIONS FOR ANALYSIS

1. What Happened to the ink in each solvents?

In water, the black, blue, and majority of the red ink remains in their position. While for the alcohol, all
the ink dissolves and move up at different rates.

2. Which solvent separated the components of the pens successfully?

The solvent that separated the components of the pens successfully is the rubbing alcohol.

3. What made the separation of the components of the ink possible?

The separation of the components of the ink is made possible because of its solubility to the solvent, and
the polarity of the solvent (rubbing alcohol).

4. How will you describe chromatography based on the experiment?

ANSWER PROVIDED BY: A.R. BARREDO 1

 Based on the experiment that I did, chromatography is the separation of components of the ink by using
a solvent (mobile phase) and a paper (stationary phase).

CONCLUSION

The best and most effective solvent to separate the components of the ink is alcohol because the components of
the ink are more soluble in alcohol. As a result, the colored ink that is more soluble in the water rises faster and
travels a great distance. In this way, colors get separated. However, if the components of the ink are not soluble in
that solvent, then it would not able to dissolve and move up the paper because it will just stay in the baseline, like
what happened using the water.

DOCUMENTATION

ANSWER PROVIDED BY: A.R. BARREDO 2

ANSWER PROVIDED BY: A.R. BARREDO 3
ANSWER PROVIDED BY: A.R. BARREDO 4