Uncover leaves’ hidden colors in this science activity

Have you ever wondered wherefore leaves alteration from greenish to an astonishing array of yellow, orangish and reddish hues during the fall?

Leaves get their superb colors from pigments made up of assorted color-creating molecules. During the warm, sunny months, plants usage their leaves to crook sunlight into nutrient energy, a process called photosynthesis. This chiefly uses a pigment that reflects greenish light, which gives the leaves their diagnostic color. In autumn, erstwhile colder, shorter days arrive, galore kinds of trees nary longer marque nutrient vigor with their leaves and, consequently, nary longer request the greenish pigment. The leaves’ different pigments — immoderate of which were already determination during summertime — go visible.

In this subject activity, you volition uncover these hidden colors by separating works pigments with a process called insubstantial chromatography. What colors volition you see?

Materials

• Leaves astatine antithetic stages of turning autumn colors (the much the amended — astir 20 of each color, from the aforesaid tree, is best)
• Scissors
• Strong, white, heavyweight, ultra-absorbent insubstantial towels or white java filter paper or chromatography filter insubstantial that tin beryllium purchased separately from Science Buddies’ partner Home Science Tools®. Note: Chromatography insubstantial usually works amended than insubstantial towels oregon java filters. If you usage insubstantial towels, marque definite to usage heavy insubstantial towels arsenic these effect successful amended colour separation.
• Ruler
• Pencil
• Clothespins oregon ample insubstantial clips (3–4 for each radical of leaves)
• Toothpicks
• Strong, sturdy glasses, specified arsenic mason jars (one for each radical of leaves)
• Tall solid jars oregon drinking glasses (one for each radical of leaves)
• Wooden spoon oregon different woody utensil with a blunt extremity for crushing leaves
• Fork
• Plates (one for each radical of leaves)
• Very tiny heat-resistant bowls oregon beverage airy candle holders (one for each radical of leaves)
• Isopropyl alcohol, 70% oregon higher
• Measuring spoon, teaspoon
• Stove
• Tap water
• Pot
• Scale
• Resealable integrative bags (one for each radical of leaves)
• Tape

Instructions

1. Separate your leaves into chiseled groups arranged by color, with astir 20 ample leaves per group. Separating them into green, yellowish and reddish piles whitethorn beryllium easiest.
2. Cut the leaves into tiny pieces with scissors.
3. For each leafage color, enactment 10 grams of leaves into a mason jar oregon drinking glass.
4. Add 4 teaspoons of isopropyl intoxicant (70 percent oregon higher) to each glass.
5. Crush the leaves into the intoxicant utilizing the blunt extremity of a woody spoon for astir 5 minutes, until the solution is dark.
   • How has the colour of the rubbing intoxicant changed? Is the last colour what you expected for each radical of leaves?
6. Let the solutions beryllium for 30 minutes successful a acheronian spot indoors.
7. Transfer the crushed leafage solution into a resealable integrative bag. Do this for each leafage colour separately. Then adjacent each container but permission 1 extremity open. Squeeze the leaves and cod the colored liquid successful a tiny heat-resistant container.
8. Pour immoderate h2o into a cookware and vigor it up connected the stove. Then power disconnected the stove and spot the 3 heat-resistant containers with your leafage extracts into the blistery water. Let them beryllium successful the blistery h2o for astir 20 to 30 minutes, oregon until the isopropyl ...