Paper Chromatography as a Teaching and Learning Technique in Elementary School Chemistry Classes Through the Use of Alternative Materials

Abstract

The chemistry discipline in elementary school often becomes "puzzling" for the students in certain subjects. In the 1st grade, for example, the process of mixture separation is not considered one of the most complex subjects of the subject, but it becomes more didactic and pertinent when a technique is used to aid in the understanding of the subject. Paper chromatography, for example, is a simple method for separating mixtures in which there is a mobile phase and a stationary phase. An example of these phases would be water and filter paper, where, the objective of the exposed work is to propose an idea that, through the chromatographic process, 1st year students can identify and understand the process of mixture separation and distinguish a mobile phase from a stationary phase using alternative materials. It was possible to observe that molecules with higher solubility travel a faster distance than molecules with lower solubility. Thus, paper chromatography is a simple teaching and learning technique that can be performed with low cost materials in the classroom or science lab, attracting the attention of students and leading to the active participation of students by the subject.