How to teach chromatography at post-16

We use chromatography to look for drugs in the blood, to test food for illegal compounds and to monitor levels of pollutants in the environment. Scientists also use it to solve crimes, make drugs and vaccines, and to search for life on Mars. Highlight these real-life applications to help post-16 students get to grips with the fundamentals of this analytical technique. Use the tips and classroom ideas to bust misconceptions and boost student understanding of paper, thin layer, gas and liquid chromatography. Plus, share how chemists couple chromatography with mass spectrometry, ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy, infrared (IR) spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to identify the separated components and determine their concentrations. Download the resource and task your 16–18 learners to plan a chromatography investigation using the known context of sweets, research analytical techniques and answer the questions.