Question

question 3. a student has a dried spot of purple ink that contains a mixture of two different dyes whose properties are described in the table below.
substance form at r.t.p. solubility boiling point magnetism
blue dye solid powder very soluble n/a not magnetic
red dye solid powder slightly soluble n/a not magnetic
the student wants to separate the dyes from each other. he decides to use chromatography with water as the solvent
part a. which of the substances is more soluble?
part b. when the water soaks up the paper strip, what will happen?
part c. can chromatography be used to effectively separate the dyes from each other?

Explanation:

Step1: Identify solubility from table

The table shows blue dye is very soluble and red dye is slightly soluble. So blue dye is more soluble.

Step2: Understand chromatography principle

In chromatography with water as solvent, more - soluble substances move faster with the water up the paper strip. So the blue dye will move further up the paper strip than the red dye.

Step3: Determine effectiveness of chromatography

Since the two dyes have different solubilities in water, they will have different rates of movement up the paper strip during chromatography, allowing them to be separated effectively.

Answer:

Part A: Blue dye
Part B: The blue dye will move further up the paper strip than the red dye.
Part C: Yes