Paper towels, or any other paper, can be substituted for the coffee filter.
In place of a line, some people use a dot. This will work as well, but the bands will not be as clearly defined using this method.
You can hang the strip with paper clips, tape, or any other mechanism you see fit.
An example apparatus would be to have the clothespin that is holding the strip clamped to a pencil lying across the top of the glass. This way, the strip dangles down and just barely touches the water.
The exact time it takes the water to reach 1 inch (2. 5 cm) from the top of the strip will depend on what kind of strip you are using. Don’t carry the system after submerging the strip; avoid any stirring that will affect the result by diffusion of bands.
The ratio of the distance a compound moved (Dc) to the distance the solvent moved (Ds) is called the Rf value. You can calculate the Rf value for any band by dividing the distance the band traveled from the original line to the distance the solvent traveled from the original line. [10] X Research source For example, if you have a band two inches past above the line you made and the solvent traveled five inches above the solvent, you could use the equation Dband/Dsolvent = Rf. For this example, that means: Rf = 2 inches / 5 inches Rf = 0. 4
