Question

Tony wanted to separate the mixture of dyes constituting a sample of ink in his chemistry laboratory. He marked a line by the ink on a filter paper and placed the filter paper in a glass containing water as shown in the figure. The filter paper was removed when the water moved near the top of the filter paper.
What would you expect to see on the strip, if the ink contains three different coloured components?

• A. Ink rises at the top of the strip.
• B. One coloured spot is obtained at the middle.
• C. Three different coloured spots are obtained on the strip at different heights.
• D. Components cannot be distinguished.

Answer 1

The correct option is C Three different coloured spots are obtained on the strip at different heights.

Chromatography can be used to separate colours from a mixture of colours. If an ink has three dyes, three different spots will be obtained at different heights on the strip.