(a) What is chromatography?

(b) Why is it named so?

(c) What are the advantages of chromatography?

(d) Name the simplest type of chromatography?

(e) On what principle is this method based?

(f) What is meant by stationary phase and mobile phase in chromatography?

(a) The process of separating different dissolved constituents of a mixture by their adsorption(particles getting adhered to a surface) on an appropriate material is called chromatography.

(b) The word chromatography means colour writing. It is named so because earlier it was used to separate mixtures containing coloured components only.

(c) The advantages of chromatography are:

1. A very small quantity of the substance can be separated.
2. Components with very similar physical and chemical properties can be separated.
3. It identifies the different constituents of a mixture.

(d) Paper chromatography.

(e) Chromatography separates the components of a mixture on the basis of differences between two phases, one of which is stationary while the other is mobile.

(f) The stationary phase is made up of common adsorbents like filter paper, silica gel as they are stationary and the mobile phase is made up of common solvents like water, ethyl alcohol, acetic acid etc. which moves or spreads on the stationary phase.