Lab 2A: Chromatography Lab

Lab 2A: Chromatography Lab

Question 1:  It is crucial that only the wick be submerged in the water and that the water climbs up by capillary action so that the ink branches out and the color is aloud to spread out completely. If the whole filter paper was submerged, the result would be that the ink would not completely spread out and all the colors would not be revealed.

Question 2: Some of the variables that have an impact on what pattern of colors are produced are the distance of the ink marks from the center of the filter paper, the amount of ink used in a mark, the type of writing utensil that is used, and the brand of the marker or pen.

Question 3:  The black ink separates into the different bands of color because the black ink is comprised of different components and colors.

Question 4: The color yellow appeared in every lab groups chromatograph. The colors appear in similar orders because the pen's ink is of a similar composition. Another factor in the order of colors could be that the pens and markers are made from a single company.

Question 5: Only water soluble markers and pens were used in the experiment because permanent markers do not wash away easily in water, so water would not be an effective solvent for permanent markers. The experiment could be modified by changing the solvent from water to something that could dissolve the permanent marker.

Our best attempt at Chromatography