You are given a sample of several compounds to separate by paper chromatography. You draw a pencil line exactly 1.0 cm from the bottom of the paper, and place a spot of sample on it. You dry the sample, then develop it in a solvent. When the chromatogram is taken out of the solvent, the paper is wet up to 8.8 cm from the bottom of the sheet. The compound you are interested in shows up as a spot 7.5 cm from the bottom of the paper. Calculate the following: How far did the compound move?

Respuesta :

Answer:

The compound moves 6.5 cm in total.

Explanation:

Before solving this problem, let's first write down all lengths we know of from the question:

Starting point of sample = 1.0 cm from bottom of paper

Paper wet up to = 8.8 cm from bottom of paper

Ending point of the sample = 7.5 cm from bottom of paper

With these lengths stated, we can easily calculate the length which the compound moved through:

Length compound moved = Ending point - Starting point

Length compound moved = 7.5 - 1.0

Length compound moved = 6.5 cm

Thus, we can see that the compound moved 6.5 cm between the time the paper was put into, and taken out of the solvent.