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hi welcome to my channel I'm your host G
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and today I'd like to talk about
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chromatography simply put chromatography
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is like a chemical racetrack where
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different molecules run at different
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speeds through a medium causing them to
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separate from each other it's based on
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how strongly these molecules stick to or
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move through different materials you
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know I love explaining this to my
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students using a pizza analogy imagine
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you spill different sauces ketchup
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mustard and mayo on a paper towel you
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notice each saw spreads differently some
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travel further others barely move that's
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exactly what's happening in
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chromatography the paper towel is our
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stationary phase and gravity pulling the
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sauces down is like our mobile phase
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each sauce or in real chromatography
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each molecule has its own personality
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that determines how fast it travels the
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main types of chromatography are paper
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thin layer gas and liquid chromatography
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each type uses different materials and
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methods to separate mixtures kind of
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like how you might sort laundry using
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different methods color material or
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temperature requirements I tell my
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students it's like different types of
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Transportation paper chromatography is
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like walking simple but effective thin
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layer chromatography is like riding a
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bike faster and more efficient gas
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chromatography is like flying super
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quick but needs special equipment and
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liquid chromatography is like taking a
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train reliable and can handle heavy
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loads each has its own tickets and
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routes if you will the station
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stationary phase is a fixed material
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that stays put while the mobile phase is
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a fluid that moves through it carrying
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the mixture we want to separate they
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work together like a security checkpoint
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in a moving crowd think about going
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through airport security the security
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checkpoint is like our stationary phase
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it stays in one place the people moving
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through are like our mobile phase some
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people like those with lots of metal
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items get stuck at security longer while
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others zip right through that's exactly
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how molecules interact with our phases
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some molecules are like the person with
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three laptops and metal jewelry they're
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going to spend more time with security
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While others are like the person
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traveling with just a phone they'll get
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through much faster chromatography is
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used everywhere from drug testing and
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forensics to food safety and
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environmental monitoring it's the goto
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method when we need to know exactly
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what's in a mixture whether it's
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detecting performance enhancing drugs in
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athletes or ensuring your food coloring
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is safe here's a wild thought you know
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those CSI shows everyone loves when
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they're analyzing evidence they're often
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using chromatography it's like being a
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molecular detective we can use it to
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check if your sport strength actually
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contains what it claims or if that new
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perfume is authentic or fake one of my
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favorite examples to share with students
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is how chromatography helps solve a
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famous art forgery Case by analyzing the
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paint pigments it's literally separating
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fact from fiction the main factors
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affecting chromatographic separation are
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temperature solvent Choice flow rate and
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the quality of the stationary phase
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these variables are like like the rules
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of the game that determine how well our
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molecular race plays out you know it
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reminds me of making the perfect cup of
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coffee stay with me here think about how
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different your coffee tastes depending
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on the water temperature how fast you
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pour it what kind of filter you use and
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even how finely ground the coffee is all
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these factors affect how the flavors are
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extracted just like in chromatography
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change any of these conditions and boom
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you get different results I once had a
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student completely mess up their
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experiment because the lab was too cold
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the molecules were moving like they were
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stuck in molasses and by the way if you
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are enjoying the video so far do me a
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quick favor hit that like button it
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really helps support the channel and it
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only takes a second chromatography can
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identify unknown substances by comparing
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their behavior to known standards run
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under the same conditions it's like
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having a fingerprint database for
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molecules we can match the unknown
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substances travel pattern to known
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compounds it's exactly like being a
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detective at a high school dance let's
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say you find a mysterious footprint and
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Spilled punch to figure out who made it
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you compare it to the shoes of everyone
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at the dance under the same conditions
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same floor same punch that's what we do
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in chromatography we run our mystery
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molecule alongside known substances and
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say aha this unknown compound traveled
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exactly like caffeine did and just like
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that mystery solved the RF value is
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simply a ratio between how far a
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substance travels compared to how far
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the solvent travels it's always between
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zero and one and it's like a molecule's
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personal speed score in our separation
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race picture this your timing students
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running a 100 m Dash if the fastest
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student let's call him the solvent runs
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100 m and your molecule runs 60 m in the
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same time your RF value would be 0.6
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easy peasy I always tell my students if
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you can divide you can calculate RF
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values and the cool thing is under the
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same conditions a compound will always
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have the same RF value it's like their
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chemical social security number
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chromatography is fantastic because it's
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precise versatile and can separate
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complex mixtures without destroying them
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however it can be timec consuming
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expensive for some types and requir
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skilled operators to get reliable
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results let me break this down like I do
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for my AP cim class the advantages are
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like a Swiss army knife it can do almost
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anything when it comes to separation but
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the limitations are like having a
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Ferrari amazing capabilities but
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expensive to maintain and you need
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training to use it properly I always
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joke with my students that some forms of
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chromatography are like having a
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$100,000 machine to separate red and
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blue M&M's but when you need to analyze
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blood samples or ensure drug Purity that
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Precision is absolutely worth every
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penny if you're looking for exercises to
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test your knowledge there is a link in
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the description for you thanks for
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sticking around till the end if you
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enjoyed the video so far and want to see
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more content like this make sure you hit
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that subscribe button thanks for
