Separating a Mixture Using Chromatography

Summary

In this educational video, chemical engineer Heidi Frandsen introduces chromatography, a technique for separating mixtures into individual components. She demonstrates a simple experiment using washable markers, coffee filters, and saltwater. By observing the different pigments' movement up the filter paper, viewers can see how primary and secondary colors, as well as brown and black, separate into their constituent pigments. The experiment illustrates the principles of chromatography and can inspire further exploration through art projects and crafts.

Takeaways

• 🔬 Chromatography is a technique used to separate mixtures into their individual components.
• 🧪 The process involves placing a sample on a solid surface and using a solvent to facilitate the separation of components.
• 🏷️ Heidi Frandsen, a chemical engineer, discusses an experiment involving chromatography with everyday materials.
• 🖍️ The experiment requires washable markers, coffee filters, salt water, and a method to hold the salt water.
• 📏 A coffee filter is cut into a rectangle and a line is drawn to mark where the color will be applied.
• 🎨 The primary and secondary colors, as well as brown and black, are used in the experiment to observe pigment separation.
• 🧂 Salt water, made with a quarter teaspoon of salt in a cup of water, acts as the solvent in the chromatography process.
• 📝 The coffee filter is moistened with salt water to allow the pigments to move up the paper.
• 🕒 The experiment takes a few minutes, and the colors begin to separate and move up the paper.
• 🌈 Different pigments in the colors react differently with the salt water, resulting in varying distances traveled up the paper.
• 🎨🔬 The experiment reveals that brown and black colors separate into a variety of pigments, including orange, purple, blue, green, and black.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video presented by Heidi Frandsen?

The main topic of the video is chromatography, a technique used to separate mixtures into their individual components.

How does the process of chromatography work as described in the script?

In chromatography, a sample is placed on a solid surface, and a solvent is used to move across the surface. The components of the mixture separate based on their resistance to the solid surface.

What materials are needed to perform the chromatography experiment shown in the video?

The materials needed for the experiment include washable markers, coffee filters, salt water, and something to hold the salt water, such as plastic cups or a container.

Why is salt water used in the chromatography experiment described in the script?

Salt water is used as the solvent in the experiment, which helps in the separation of the pigments in the markers by moving up the coffee filter.

What is the purpose of the line drawn 1/2 an inch up from the bottom of the coffee filter?

The line is drawn to define where the color from the markers should be applied, serving as a starting point for the chromatography process.

How many different papers with different colors were prepared for the experiment?

Three different papers were prepared, with primary colors, secondary colors, and then brown and black.

What is the approximate size of the rectangle cut from the coffee filter for the experiment?

The rectangle is about two inches wide and approximately 4 inches long.

How much salt is typically added to the water to create the salt water solution for the experiment?

A quarter teaspoon of salt is added to about a cup of water to create the salt water solution.

What observation can be made about the primary colors after about five minutes of the experiment?

After five minutes, it can be observed that the primary colors have traveled different distances up the paper, with blue moving the furthest and red staying closest to the line.

What can be inferred about the secondary colors from the experiment's results?

The secondary colors show a separation of pigments, with green revealing some yellow and blue, indicating that the colors are composed of different pigments that move at different rates.

What surprising observations were made when the brown and black colors were analyzed through chromatography?

The brown color revealed the presence of orange and purple, while the black showed the presence of blue, green, and black pigments, demonstrating the complex composition of these colors.

Outlines

00:00

🧪 Chromatography Experiment with Markers and Coffee Filters

Heidi Frandsen, a chemical engineer, introduces the concept of chromatography, a technique for separating mixtures into individual components. The video demonstrates a simple experiment using washable markers, coffee filters, salt water, and plastic cups. The process involves cutting a coffee filter into a rectangle, drawing a line near the bottom to apply the ink from markers, and observing how the ink separates as the salt water moves up the filter. The experiment is conducted with primary and secondary colors, as well as brown and black ink, to show the different pigments' behaviors when interacting with the salt water. The results are expected to reveal how far each color travels and how the pigments separate, providing a visual representation of chromatography.

05:01

🌈 Observations from the Chromatography Experiment

After allowing the chromatography experiment to run for about five minutes, Heidi observes the separation of pigments in the primary colors, noting the varying distances each color has traveled up the coffee filter. The blue pigment has moved the farthest, while the yellow and red pigments have traveled less, remaining closer to the baseline. The secondary colors show an even more distinct separation, with the green pigment revealing underlying yellow and blue components. The purple sample begins to show separation into pink and blue hues. The brown and black samples are particularly intriguing, as they reveal the presence of orange, purple, blue, and green pigments, demonstrating the complexity of color composition. Heidi concludes by suggesting that chromatography can be used for various art projects, encouraging viewers to explore further creative applications.

Keywords

💡Chromatography

Chromatography is a method used to separate mixtures into their individual components based on their affinity to a stationary phase and a mobile phase. In the context of the video, it is used to demonstrate the separation of pigments in colored markers using a coffee filter and salt water. The process is shown through the movement of different colored dots up the coffee filter, illustrating how each pigment interacts differently with the solvent.

💡Chemical Engineering

Chemical engineering is a branch of engineering that deals with the design, development, and operation of processes that involve chemical reactions, particularly in the production of chemicals, materials, and energy. Heidi Frandsen, the speaker in the video, is a chemical engineer, which establishes her expertise in the subject matter of chromatography.

💡Mixture

A mixture in the context of the video refers to a combination of different substances that can be separated into their individual components. The video demonstrates the separation of a mixture of pigments found in washable markers using chromatography.

💡Solid Surface

In the video, the solid surface refers to the coffee filter used in the chromatography experiment. The coffee filter acts as the stationary phase where the sample's components are placed and from which they begin to separate as the solvent moves up the surface.

💡Solvent

A solvent in this context is the liquid used to facilitate the separation process in chromatography. The video uses salt water as the solvent, which is absorbed by the coffee filter and helps in the migration of pigments, leading to their separation.

💡Components

Components are the individual substances that make up a mixture. In the video, the components refer to the different pigments in the washable markers that are separated through the chromatography process.

💡Color Chromatography

Color chromatography is a specific type of chromatography demonstrated in the video, where the separation of pigments from colored markers is visually represented on a coffee filter. It is a simple and educational experiment to illustrate the principles of chromatography.

💡Coffee Filter

A coffee filter is used in the video as the medium for the chromatography experiment. It is a porous material that allows the salt water to rise and carry the pigments with it, leading to their separation. The coffee filter's properties make it an ideal tool for this type of demonstration.

💡Salt Water

In the video, salt water is used as the mobile phase in the chromatography experiment. It is prepared by dissolving a small amount of salt in water and is poured into a cup to allow the coffee filter to absorb it. The salt water's movement up the filter helps in the separation of the pigments.

💡Primary Colors

Primary colors are the fundamental colors from which other colors can be created through mixing. In the video, primary colors (blue, yellow, and red) are used in the chromatography experiment to demonstrate how each pigment behaves differently when separated.

💡Secondary Colors

Secondary colors are created by mixing primary colors together. In the video, secondary colors (orange, green, and purple) are also used in the chromatography experiment, showing how they separate into their constituent primary colors.

💡Brown and Black

Brown and black are complex colors made up of a combination of various pigments. In the video, these colors are used in the chromatography experiment to show that they can be separated into multiple pigments, revealing the underlying components like orange, purple, blue, green, and black.

Highlights

Chromatography is a technique used to separate mixtures into their individual components.

The process involves placing a sample on a solid surface and using a solvent to facilitate the separation.

Components separate based on their interaction with the solid surface and the solvent.

Color chromatography is a simple experiment using washable markers, coffee filters, and salt water.

A coffee filter is cut into a rectangle to fit the experiment's container.

A line is drawn on the filter to define where the color will be applied.

Primary and secondary colors, as well as brown and black, are used to demonstrate pigment separation.

Salt water is prepared with a quarter teaspoon of salt in a cup of water for the experiment.

The coffee filter is placed in a cup with the salt water to initiate the chromatography process.

The amount of salt water is carefully controlled to ensure proper absorption by the filter.

The experiment takes a few minutes to observe the pigments moving up the paper.

Different pigments travel varying distances, indicating their unique properties.

Blue pigment moves the farthest, while yellow and red travel less distance.

Secondary colors reveal a separation of pigments, showing underlying hues.

The green pigment in secondary colors shows traces of yellow and blue.

Brown and black pigments separate into a surprising array of colors, including orange, purple, and blue.

Chromatography can be used for educational purposes and creative art projects.

The experiment concludes with an invitation to explore more crafts using chromatography.

Transcripts

my name is Heidi Frandsen I am a

chemical engineer at partovi

ager science today we're going to talk

about chromatography and chromatography

is a way to basically separate mixture

into its individual components and how

this is done is your sample is placed on

a solid surface and the solvent you use

a solvent to basically absorb or be on

the surface of that solid surface and

the components and that mixture will

separate based on the resistance on the

solid surface so today we're going to

look at color chromatography and this is

a pretty simple experiment you just need

some washable markers and you will need

coffee filters and some salt water and

something to hold your salt watering

you're gonna need to do is you take your

coffee filter and you're going to cut it

into a rectangle and so because we're

using these little plastic cups our

rectangle is about two inches wide it'd

probably be about 4 inches long it

doesn't need to be this long we just cut

them that way the other thing we needed

to do is we drew a line about 1/2 an

inch up from the bottom of the paper to

help us define where we're going to put

our color on the line and so what we did

because there's a different phenomena

that occurs is we we put dots on our

papers so we did we did three different

papers and we're gonna do our primary

colors and we're gonna do our secondary

colors and then we have brown and black

so we're gonna go ahead and start this

experiment so basically what we have our

salt water which basically is like a

quarter teaspoon of salt in about a cup

of water and this one already has some

salt water in so I'm going to start it

over here and I put them

these popsicle sticks so that I could

just get it so that it's just touching

the bottom of the cup another way to do

this is you just want those you just

want this foot water right at the bottom

of the cup because you want the salt

water to kind of move up the coffee

filter so this is one way to do it so

you don't put too much in there is I've

got it now hanging in the cup and then

I'm going to just pour enough into the

bottom so that there's some in the

bottom and the paper can start absorbing

it but not too much to impact the

experiment I'm just gonna put a little

bit of water into this one and we'll put

our brown and black in there and this

will take I'm gonna put a little too

much so I'll just lean it against the

side so this is gonna take a few minutes

you can already start to see the colors

kind of move up the paper and we will

come back in about five or ten minutes

and see what if we can see any

differences in the color streaks on the

coffee filter it's been about five

minutes so let's see what's happening

with our colored dots so these are our

primary colors and you can see that

there's a difference and how far they've

traveled up the paper and you can also

see that the blue it pretty much all the

pigment has moved up above the line

where's the yellow is a little bit less

so in the Reds closer to the line so

that depends on the pigments and and how

they react or inter interact with the

salt water so that's what those look

like

and they still pretty much look blue

yellow and red so let's look at the

secondary colors now these look a little

bit different so we had orange green and

purple and so when you look at these and

if we had let them dry a little bit

or the green is probably the one we

could look at hopefully you can see

there's a little bit of yellow in there

and you can see the blue way up at the

top so you can see a difference in the

colors starting to separate and you can

also see a little bit of pink and a

little bit of blue with the purple so

you can start to see those those

pigments separate out in the different

colors and you can see it a little bit

more if you let your paper dry and we'll

look at our brown and black example so

here's our brown and our black and those

are kind of interesting because I

wouldn't have ever guessed that when you

look at your brown you can see orange

and you can see purple and when you look

at your black do you got some make sure

that you've got some blues and some

greens and some black in there so it's

interesting how the two different colors

what they separate out and what what

comes through when you do this

experiment so that is chromatography and

there's lots of different art projects

that you could do also with it so if you

think this was fun you can look for some

different crafts also to do with

chromatography have a great day