Question

In today’s experiment, some lab students let their chromatograms elute slightly longer than others. If one student’s solvent front traveled to 9.80 cm, and another student’s solvent front traveled 8.00 cm, should these students obtain different Rfs for the known cations? Why or why not?

Answer 1

Answer:

They should obtain the same Rf for the same compounds.

Explanation:

The Rf is defined as A/B. Where A is the displacement of the substance of interest, and B is the solvent front.

By dividing the substance's displacement by B, we make it so that the Rf factor is equal for identical compounds in the same mobile phase, no matter what the solvent front is.