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AP Chemistry
3.9 Separation of Solutions and Mixtures
3.1 Intermolecular and Interparticle Forces
IntermediateMCQMathematicalConceptual15.7k
Paper chromatogram showing distances traveled by the dye components and the solvent front.
Paper chromatogram showing distances traveled by the dye components and the solvent front.
A student investigates the composition of a food dye mixture containing a yellow dye and a blue dye using paper chromatography. The stationary phase is chromatography paper composed of polar cellulose fibers, and the mobile phase is a nonpolar organic solvent. The blue dye molecules possess multiple polar hydroxyl and sulfonate functional groups, whereas the yellow dye molecules are predominantly nonpolar. The chromatogram is developed until the solvent front travels a distance of \(8.0\text{ cm}\) from the baseline origin. The yellow dye spot travels \(6.0\text{ cm}\), and the blue dye spot travels \(2.0\text{ cm}\). What is the retention factor (\(R_f\)) of the dye component that has the stronger intermolecular attractions with the stationary phase?

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