Candy Chromatography
Candies like M&M's or Skittles have different colors because of the various
dyes inside. We will figure out which candies have which dyes in this
experiment. Using "Candy Chromatography" we will dissolve the dyes out
using water and separate them with a salt solution.
Materials:
- Candies of Different Colors M&M or Skittles work Well
- Coffee Filters or Filter Ppaper
- Tall Clear Glass or Jar
- Water
- Salt
- Pencil (no pens or markers)
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Toothpicks
- Aluminum Foil
- Empty 2 liter Bottle and Cap
Process:
1) Cut the filter paper into a 3 x 3 inch squares.
2) Take the pencil and draw a line ½ inch from one edge of the paper.
3) Plot six dots equally spaced along the line. Leave ¼ inch between the first
and last dots and the edge of the paper.
4) Under the line label each dot for the colors of candy your going to test. (Y for
yellow, G for green, BU for blue, BR for brown).
5) Make candy dye solutions. Cut a 10 x 6 piece of aluminum foil and lay it flat.
Put six drops of water spaced evenly along the foil. Drop one of each color of
candy in the water drops (one color candy per one water drop). Let the candies
soak in the water for a minute or two. The color will begin to come off the candy
into the water solution. Remove the candy from solution.
6) Take a toothpick and dip it into one of the colored candy solutions on the foil.
Get the tip of the toothpick wet. Next gently touch the toothpick to the
corresponding marked place one the filter paper (blue solution on the dot you
marked BU for Blue on the filter paper). Be gentle, we need the dot to be small
1/16 inch or less. Repeat the process using a different toothpick for each color
until you have a small dot on each marked part of the filter paper.
7) Let the colored dots on your filter paper dry.
8) Repeat step 6 to get more color dye on each of your filter paper dots. You will
need to do steps 6 and 7 a total of three times. Be patient!
9) Once you have completed step 8, fold the filter paper in 1/2 so it will stand up
on it's own. The dots need to be on the bottom portion.
10) Lets make a developing solution next. Measure and put ⅛ teaspoon of salt
and 3 cups of water into the empty (and clean) 2 liter bottle. Screw on the lid.
Shake until the salt is dissolved in the water making a solution. This is called a
1% salt solution.
11) Pour 1/4 inch of the salt solution into a tall glass. The level of the solution
needs to be low enough so that when you put the filter paper inside the dots
will initially be above the solution level. Hold the filter paper with the dots at the
bottom and set it in the glass with the salt solution.
12) The salt solution will start to climb up the paper using a process called
capillary action.
13) The solution climbs up the filter paper and moves through the colored dots.
The colored dots begin to separate into different color bands. Notice that some
candy colors were made from mixing several different dyes. These colors
separate into different bands as they move up the filter paper. Dyes separate
due to some dyes sticking more to the filter paper and others being more
soluble in the solution. As a result the dyes climb will stop at different heights
on the filter paper.
14) Once the solution gets about ½ inch from the top edge of the filter paper,
remove it. Lay the paper out to dry.
15) Compare the spots from the different candies, noting similarities and
differences. Record your results.
Which candies contained mixtures of dyes?
Which ones seem to have just one dye?
Do similar colors from different candies travel up the paper the same distance?
16) Repeat the experiment with a different kind of candy. If you did the M&M's
first, then try the skittles.
The Science
Chromatography is the collective term for a family of laboratory techniques for
the separation of mixtures. It involves passing a mixture dissolved in a "mobile
phase" through a stationary phase, which separates the substance to be
measured from other molecules in the mixture and allows it to be isolated and
viewed.
dyes inside. We will figure out which candies have which dyes in this
experiment. Using "Candy Chromatography" we will dissolve the dyes out
using water and separate them with a salt solution.
Materials:
- Candies of Different Colors M&M or Skittles work Well
- Coffee Filters or Filter Ppaper
- Tall Clear Glass or Jar
- Water
- Salt
- Pencil (no pens or markers)
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Toothpicks
- Aluminum Foil
- Empty 2 liter Bottle and Cap
Process:
1) Cut the filter paper into a 3 x 3 inch squares.
2) Take the pencil and draw a line ½ inch from one edge of the paper.
3) Plot six dots equally spaced along the line. Leave ¼ inch between the first
and last dots and the edge of the paper.
4) Under the line label each dot for the colors of candy your going to test. (Y for
yellow, G for green, BU for blue, BR for brown).
5) Make candy dye solutions. Cut a 10 x 6 piece of aluminum foil and lay it flat.
Put six drops of water spaced evenly along the foil. Drop one of each color of
candy in the water drops (one color candy per one water drop). Let the candies
soak in the water for a minute or two. The color will begin to come off the candy
into the water solution. Remove the candy from solution.
6) Take a toothpick and dip it into one of the colored candy solutions on the foil.
Get the tip of the toothpick wet. Next gently touch the toothpick to the
corresponding marked place one the filter paper (blue solution on the dot you
marked BU for Blue on the filter paper). Be gentle, we need the dot to be small
1/16 inch or less. Repeat the process using a different toothpick for each color
until you have a small dot on each marked part of the filter paper.
7) Let the colored dots on your filter paper dry.
8) Repeat step 6 to get more color dye on each of your filter paper dots. You will
need to do steps 6 and 7 a total of three times. Be patient!
9) Once you have completed step 8, fold the filter paper in 1/2 so it will stand up
on it's own. The dots need to be on the bottom portion.
10) Lets make a developing solution next. Measure and put ⅛ teaspoon of salt
and 3 cups of water into the empty (and clean) 2 liter bottle. Screw on the lid.
Shake until the salt is dissolved in the water making a solution. This is called a
1% salt solution.
11) Pour 1/4 inch of the salt solution into a tall glass. The level of the solution
needs to be low enough so that when you put the filter paper inside the dots
will initially be above the solution level. Hold the filter paper with the dots at the
bottom and set it in the glass with the salt solution.
12) The salt solution will start to climb up the paper using a process called
capillary action.
13) The solution climbs up the filter paper and moves through the colored dots.
The colored dots begin to separate into different color bands. Notice that some
candy colors were made from mixing several different dyes. These colors
separate into different bands as they move up the filter paper. Dyes separate
due to some dyes sticking more to the filter paper and others being more
soluble in the solution. As a result the dyes climb will stop at different heights
on the filter paper.
14) Once the solution gets about ½ inch from the top edge of the filter paper,
remove it. Lay the paper out to dry.
15) Compare the spots from the different candies, noting similarities and
differences. Record your results.
Which candies contained mixtures of dyes?
Which ones seem to have just one dye?
Do similar colors from different candies travel up the paper the same distance?
16) Repeat the experiment with a different kind of candy. If you did the M&M's
first, then try the skittles.
The Science
Chromatography is the collective term for a family of laboratory techniques for
the separation of mixtures. It involves passing a mixture dissolved in a "mobile
phase" through a stationary phase, which separates the substance to be
measured from other molecules in the mixture and allows it to be isolated and
viewed.
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