This deep dive covers What is Chromatography? within Chromatography for GCSE Chemistry. Revise Chromatography in Chemical Analysis for GCSE Chemistry with 20 exam-style questions and 15 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 2 of 13 in this topic. Use this deep dive to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 2 of 13
Practice
20 questions
Recall
15 flashcards
🔍 What is Chromatography?
Chromatography is a separation technique used to separate mixtures into their individual components and to identify those components.
Two Essential Phases
- Mobile phase: The solvent (e.g. water, ethanol) that moves through or across the stationary phase, carrying dissolved components with it
- Stationary phase: The material that stays fixed in place — in paper chromatography this is the chromatography paper itself
When Do We Use Chromatography?
- To identify what substances are present in a mixture
- To separate components for further analysis
- To test if a substance is pure (one spot) or a mixture (multiple spots)
- To compare unknown samples to known standards (e.g. forensics)
Keep building this topic
Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Chromatography. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.
Practice Questions for Chromatography
What is the purpose of chromatography?
Explain how a chromatogram can be used to determine whether a substance is pure or a mixture.
Quick Recall Flashcards
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