After three minutes, remove the strips and set aside to dry. The paper showing the color separations is called a chromatogram TIP Test each marker beforehand. Not all colors or brands separate on paper. Ink is a mixture . Even though it appears to be one color, it often consists of different pigments, each made of chemicals with unique characteristics, or properties.
Water creeps up paper by capillary action .
The leading edge of water is attracted to the particles in the paper and reaches for them. The rest of the water is attracted to the water's edge and follows it. The pigments, which have different properties, react to water and paper in different ways. The ones with the greatest attraction to water move faster and spread out further than those with a greater attraction to paper. In the center, draw a coin-sized circle of five or six dots with markers.