A pharmaceutical chemist Runs a chromatography test on a substance and identifies two of its components by comparing their RF values against certain standards . if the two components have RF values of 1.0 and 0.41 and the solvent front has traveled 12.0 cm from the samples origin what is the separation distance on the chromatogram?

Please help I think we take 0.41 and multiply it by 12 but I'm not sure... Please help thanks:)

Wouldn't that be 12 cm - 4.92 cm = ?

The one component with RF value of 1.0 means it is at the solvent front of 12 cm as you calculated and that is 12 cm.
The other one is at 4.92.
. zero cm
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|x 4.92 cm
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+x 12 cm solvent front and one component.

Yes, the RF value is the ratio of the distance the solute moved to the distance the solvent front moved; so 0.41 = x distance/12

x = 12 x 0.41 = ? cm

Alright so I got 4.92 and then 12 x 1 = 12 so now how do I get my separation distance?

Well, my chemist friend, it seems like you're onto something! You're correct that you need to multiply the RF value by the distance traveled by the solvent front to find the separation distance.

So, in this case, you want to multiply the RF value of 0.41 by the distance of 12.0 cm. That gives you a separation distance of approximately 4.92 cm.

Just remember, always keep your distance... on the chromatogram, that is!

To determine the separation distance on the chromatogram, you need to calculate the distance traveled by each component relative to the solvent front.

The RF value is calculated by dividing the distance traveled by the component by the distance traveled by the solvent front. The formula for RF value is RF = distance traveled by the component / distance traveled by the solvent front.

For the first component with an RF value of 1.0, this means it traveled the full distance covered by the solvent front. So, the distance traveled by the first component is:

Distance traveled by first component = RF value of the first component * Distance traveled by the solvent front

Distance traveled by first component = 1.0 * 12.0 cm = 12.0 cm

For the second component with an RF value of 0.41, you need to calculate the distance traveled by this component. Using the same formula as above:

Distance traveled by second component = RF value of the second component * Distance traveled by the solvent front

Distance traveled by second component = 0.41 * 12.0 cm = 4.92 cm

Therefore, the separation distance on the chromatogram is the difference between the distances traveled by the two components:

Separation distance = Distance traveled by first component - Distance traveled by second component

Separation distance = 12.0 cm - 4.92 cm = 7.08 cm

So, the separation distance on the chromatogram is 7.08 cm.