In the first experiment we use the solubility of pigments to distinguish and observe them. Solubility refers to how much of a particular substance can dissolve in a particular solvent. In this experiment we use the solubility of the different colored pigments in the leaf to identify the different pigments. For example, when looking at a normal leaf, you only see that it is green because chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b are the most abundant in green leaves because those chlorophyll’s pigment is green, and as a result we do not see any other pigments just by observing with the human eye. Thus, we use paper chromatography because the chromatography paper separates the different leaf pigments based on their solubility. Like the least soluble pigments
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This photosynthetic process involves two separate stages: the light cycle in which the plant converts light energy into chemical energy and secondly, the Calvin cycle which uses that chemical energy to make sugars for food. To perform these processes, plants use organelles called chloroplasts that absorbs light to fuel the plant. These chloroplasts are consisted of different pigments that absorb specific wavelengths of light, with the two most abundant being chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. This lab consists of two different experiments that relate to the photosynthetic processes in plants. The objective of the first experiment is to demonstrate the presence of various different pigments in a vegetable leaf using paper chromatography and identify them by using their rate of movement(Rf) and their colors. While, in the second experiment we will be using a spectrophotometer to scan extracted green leaf pigments to identify the amount of light absorbed by the varying wavelengths we use in the …show more content…
First to start the experiment, you will have to cut the filter paper into strip that will fit into the glass jar and then make a pencil line about 3 cm from the bottom to show the start point. Then you should apply the leaf sample by rolling a coin across the leaf at the pencil line you drew, do this several times until the you see a dark green line of pigment on the chromatography paper. Make sure that there is enough space below the sample line, so it won’t get submerged in the solvent. After that you can add the chromatography solvent to the jar, about 1 cm from the bottom of the jar should be good enough. Then simply insert the paper strip into the jar, while making sure the sample line is not in the solvent and wait until the solvent front is about 6-7 cm from the sample line which will take about 30 minutes and remove it from the
This photosynthetic process involves two separate stages: the light cycle in which the plant converts light energy into chemical energy and secondly, the Calvin cycle which uses that chemical energy to make sugars for food. To perform these processes, plants use organelles called chloroplasts that absorbs light to fuel the plant. These chloroplasts are consisted of different pigments that absorb specific wavelengths of light, with the two most abundant being chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. This lab consists of two different experiments that relate to the photosynthetic processes in plants. The objective of the first experiment is to demonstrate the presence of various different pigments in a vegetable leaf using paper chromatography and identify them by using their rate of movement(Rf) and their colors. While, in the second experiment we will be using a spectrophotometer to scan extracted green leaf pigments to identify the amount of light absorbed by the varying wavelengths we use in the …show more content…
First to start the experiment, you will have to cut the filter paper into strip that will fit into the glass jar and then make a pencil line about 3 cm from the bottom to show the start point. Then you should apply the leaf sample by rolling a coin across the leaf at the pencil line you drew, do this several times until the you see a dark green line of pigment on the chromatography paper. Make sure that there is enough space below the sample line, so it won’t get submerged in the solvent. After that you can add the chromatography solvent to the jar, about 1 cm from the bottom of the jar should be good enough. Then simply insert the paper strip into the jar, while making sure the sample line is not in the solvent and wait until the solvent front is about 6-7 cm from the sample line which will take about 30 minutes and remove it from the