¥ Chemistry Science Fair Projects SS Experiment 1.2 Separating by Chromatography Materials v black ink v scissors VY red, green, blue, and Vv ruler yellow food coloring ¥ colored marking pens v water ¥ blue and black ink pens Y filter papers or white Y toothpicks coffee filters or blotter v tape nee ide, shallow dish V fannel v wide, shallow dis! There are many ways to separate substances. One of the more subtle methods is paper chromatography. You can use this method to try to separate the pigments in ink and food color- ing. These substances often contain more than one pigment. Can you separate the colored substances by filtering? To find out, add a few drops of black ink and a few drops each of red, green, blue, and yellow food coloring to about 5 mL of water. Then fold a piece of filter paper or a coffee fil- ter as was shown in Figure 1. Place the filter in a funnel. Pour the mixture of water, ink, and food coloring onto it. Is the liquid that comes through the filter paper clear or is it still colored? What happens to the color on the filter after an hour or two? 18Identifying Substances SS You may have noticed that the colored pigments on the filter began to separate into different colors. To separate the colors that may be in ink and food coloring, cut some strips about 2 cm X 15 cm (1 in x 6 in) from white coffee filters, filter paper, or white blotter paper. Near the bottom of one strip, paint a stripe using one of your colored samples (food coloring or ink). Prepare sep- arate strips for each sample. A toothpick can be used to paint the stripes of food coloring. Use different colored marking pens as well as blue and black ink pens to “paint” on some colored inks. When the strips are dry, use tape to hang them from a kitchen cupboard or a ruler, as shown in Figure 2. The bottom ends of the strips should just touch the water in a wide con- tainer. What happens as water climbs the paper? Do any of the colors separate into different pigments? Would this method work if the pigments were not soluble in water? Can you put the pigments back together again? Science? Projectealdea ye A Bw = ye" the different types of chromatography, such as column, thin layer, high-pressure liquid, and gas. How does each of these various forms of chromatography separate the components of a mixture? How do forensic scientists use chromatography to help solve crimes? 19ty Chemistry Science Fair Projects SS tape filter paper strips colored stripes Figure 2. Paper chromatography is sometimes used to separate sub- stances in a mixture.