Explain6 marksChallenge
A student extracted pigments from a variegated leaf and separated them using paper chromatography with a solvent that travelled 12.0 cm from the origin. The distances travelled by each pigment are shown in the table.
| Pigment | Distance travelled (cm) |
|---|---|
| Chlorophyll b | 4.8 |
| Chlorophyll a | 7.2 |
| Xanthophyll | 9.6 |
| Carotene | 11.4 |
The student also measured the absorption spectra of each pigment (not shown here).
Explain how the separation of pigments on the chromatogram relates to their chemical properties and their roles in photosynthesis.