Vernier Software & Technology

# Plant Pigment Chromatography

## Introduction

Paper chromatography is a technique used to separate substances in a mixture based on the movement of the different substances up a piece of paper by capillary action. Pigments extracted from plant cells contain a variety of molecules, such as chlorophylls, beta carotene, and xanthophyll, that can be separated using paper chromatography. A small sample of plant pigment placed on chromatography paper travels up the paper due to capillary action. Beta carotene is carried the furthest because it is highly soluble in the solvent and because it forms no hydrogen bonds with the chromatography paper fibers. Xanthophyll contains oxygen and does not travel quite as far with the solvent because it is less soluble than beta carotene and forms some hydrogen bonds with the paper. Chlorophylls are bound more tightly to the paper than the other two, so they travel the shortest distance.

The ratio of the distance moved by a pigment to the distance moved by the solvent is a constant, Rf. Each type of molecule has its own Rf value.

${R_f} = \frac{{{\text{distance traveled by pigment}}}} {{{\text{distance traveled by solvent}}}}$

## Objectives

In this experiment, you will

• Separate plant pigments.
• Calculate the Rf values of the pigments.

## Sensors and Equipment

No probeware required for this experiment.

## Advanced Biology with Vernier

See other experiments from the lab book.

 1A Diffusion through Membranes 1B Osmosis 2A Enzyme Action: Testing Catalase Activity 2B Enzyme Action: Testing Catalase Activity 3 Mitosis & Meiosis 4A Plant Pigment Chromatography 4B Photosynthesis 5A Cell Respiration (CO2 and O2) 5B Cell Respiration (CO2) 5C Cell Respiration (O2) 5D Cell Respiration (Pressure) 6A pGLO™ Bacterial Transformation 6B Analysis of Precut Lambda DNA 6B Forensic DNA Fingerprinting 7 Genetics of Drosophila 8 Population Genetics and Evolution 9 Transpiration 10A Blood Pressure as a Vital Sign 10B Heart Rate and Physical Fitness 11 Animal Behavior 12A Dissolved Oxygen in Water 12B Primary Productivity 13 The Visible Spectra of Plant Pigments 14 Determination of Chlorophyll in Olive Oil 15 Enzyme Analysis using Tyrosinase 16 Introduction to Neurotransmitters using AChE 17 Macromolecules: Experiments with Protein

### Experiment 4A from Advanced Biology with Vernier Lab Book

#### Included in the Lab Book

Vernier lab books include word-processing files of the student instructions, essential teacher information, suggested answers, sample data and graphs, and more.