Experiment No.: 4
Experiment Title: Paper Chromatography
Name of equipment
Uses
or apparatus
solution.
2
It is the leaves used in the
pigments.
mixed together.
water.
2
3
4
IV. PROCEDURE
DISTANCE DISTANCE
DESCRIPTION
NAME OF PIGMENTS IN TRAVELED TRAVELED
OF LEAF TRIAL Rf
PLANT SAMPLE BY SOLUTE, BY ALCOHOL,
SAMPLE
cm cm
From the Table V.1, two pigments were observed in each trial, green and purple pigments. This can lead
to a conclusion that when the sample contains more than one color, this means that it have more than
one kind of molecule. It was observed also that the first pigment in the paper was green and is followed
by the purple pigment. This concludes that molecules tend to migrate higher in the paper when it is more
DISTANCE DISTANCE
DESCRIPTION
NAME OF PIGMENTS IN TRAVELED TRAVELED
OF LEAF TRIAL Rf
PLANT SAMPLE BY SOLUTE, BY ALCOHOL,
SAMPLE
cm cm
1 PURPLE
A red-colored 11.3 14.6 0.7740
leaf/ foliage
POINSETTIA 2 PURPLE
in medium 11.5 15.8 0.7278
size.
3 PURPLE
13.7 16.4 0.8354
From the Table V.2, only one pigment was observed in each trial, the purple pigment. There can be an
error here where the sample did not treat correctly or there could be another pigment but it is not quite
visible to eyes. So, we could say that the dye travelled through stationary place at the same rate as the
In conclusion, the experiment was able to present the process and results of
paper chromatography. Furthermore, the researchers were able to observe the different
pigments of poinsettia leaves using 70% and 40% isopropyl alcohol. The researchers
were able to measure the retardation factor of every pigment present in the filter
paper. The researchers were also able to conclude that the cutting of leaves in small
sizes can affect the results and measurement of the pigments in the filter papers.
1. The researchers recommend that the leaves will be cut in small pieces to
paper in the beaker. The stick at the back of filter paper should be place outside
the beaker.
, 1
, =
, 2
Purple Trial 3
Trial 1 4.8
= = 0.536313
8.95
8.2
= = 0.987952
8.3
Trial 2
9.1
= = 0.978495
9.3
Trial 3
8.4
= = 0.938547
8.95
Green
Trial 1
3.6
= = 0.433735
8.3
Trial 2
3.9
= = 0.419355
9.3
For 40% isopropyl alcohol:
Purple
Trial 1
10.3
= = 1.000
10.3
Trial 2
9.5
= = 1.000
9.5
Trial 3
10.3
= = 1.000
10.3
Green
Trial 1
4.9
= = 0.475728
10.3
Trial 2
4.2
= = 0.442105
9.5
Trial 3
3.6
= = 0.349515
10.3
1. Does the season in which the leaves are picked affect their colors?
Yes, the season in which the leaves are picked after their color. There are three factors that
influence leaf color: leaf pigments, length of night and weather. During, spring and summer
(growing season), chlorophyll is being produced letting the leaf stay green. During the autumn (
as night gets longer), the plant has harder time to produce chlorophyll, therefore causing a
chromatography, a fluid is pumped through a bed of particles. The liquid starts to move past the
solid and some of its molecules are sucked toward the surface of the solid before being pulled
back again into the liquid they came from. Each component of the fluid undergoes adsorption in
a different way and spends more or less time in either the solid or the liquid phase.
3. What are the other chromatography techniques aside from paper chromatography
Other chromatography techniques aside from paper chromatography include the following types:
Gas chromatography
Column chromatography
Affining chromatography
Two-dimensional chromatography
Counter-current chromatography
Chiral chromatography
mobile phase. The stationary phase is the solid or the liquid supported on a solid. The mobile
phase is the liquid or the gas. The mobile phase flows through the stationary phase and carries
Unknown substances left at a crime scene can be identified by separating the molecules that
make them up
The ink used in a note left on a crime scene can e identified through paper chromatography
XI. APPENDICES
a. Reference
b. Filter strips used in the experiment