Whatman # 1 Filter Lab Report
Hypothesis. If pigment from euonymus alatus (burning bush) leaves is extracted, then carotenes and xanthophylls will appear when a solvent, made of 9 parts petroleum ether and 1 part acetone, goes up Whatman #1 filter paper
Purpose. The purpose of this experiment was to demonstrate the presence of carotenes, xanthophylls, and chlorophylls in leaves.
Methods and Materials.
A piece of Whatman #1 filter paper was cut to fit into an ignition tube. One end was cut to form a V, and the sides of the filter paper were made sure to not touch the sides of the ignition tube.
A paper clip was attached to the non-pointed end of the filter paper. The other end of the paperclip was stuck into the stopper of the ignition tube.
It was made sure that …show more content…
The purpose of this experiment, which was to determine the presence of carotenes, xanthophylls, and chlorophylls in leaves, was not accomplished because no pigments became visible. This is shown in Figure 1, where no colors other than the initial extract line, are visible. It was expected that carotenes and xanthophylls were to appear, because yellow and orange pigments would be thought to be in a red leaf. This might have happened because the extract was not as concentrated as it looked. The lack of pigment also could have been a result of getting the leaves so late in fall, resulting in them already have released most of their pigments. Based on research conducted in a Harvard University lab, a red leaf should have produced anthocyanin pigments, which “absorb light in the blue-green wavelength, allowing the red wavelengths to be scattered by the plant tissues to make these organs visible to us as red”. It did not list what type of solvent it used. Even though the leaf appeared very red when it was used, that does not mean that there remained a lot of pigment. In the initial experiment that was followed, it did not say to look for anthocyanin. After much research, it was found out that the leaf used in the experiment was from an euonymus
Purpose. The purpose of this experiment was to demonstrate the presence of carotenes, xanthophylls, and chlorophylls in leaves.
Methods and Materials.
A piece of Whatman #1 filter paper was cut to fit into an ignition tube. One end was cut to form a V, and the sides of the filter paper were made sure to not touch the sides of the ignition tube.
A paper clip was attached to the non-pointed end of the filter paper. The other end of the paperclip was stuck into the stopper of the ignition tube.
It was made sure that …show more content…
The purpose of this experiment, which was to determine the presence of carotenes, xanthophylls, and chlorophylls in leaves, was not accomplished because no pigments became visible. This is shown in Figure 1, where no colors other than the initial extract line, are visible. It was expected that carotenes and xanthophylls were to appear, because yellow and orange pigments would be thought to be in a red leaf. This might have happened because the extract was not as concentrated as it looked. The lack of pigment also could have been a result of getting the leaves so late in fall, resulting in them already have released most of their pigments. Based on research conducted in a Harvard University lab, a red leaf should have produced anthocyanin pigments, which “absorb light in the blue-green wavelength, allowing the red wavelengths to be scattered by the plant tissues to make these organs visible to us as red”. It did not list what type of solvent it used. Even though the leaf appeared very red when it was used, that does not mean that there remained a lot of pigment. In the initial experiment that was followed, it did not say to look for anthocyanin. After much research, it was found out that the leaf used in the experiment was from an euonymus