Q.

The correct statements among the following, for a "chromatography" purification method is:               [2024]

1 Non-polar compounds are retained at the top and polar compounds come down in column chromatography.  
2 Organic compounds run faster than solvent in the thin layer chromatographic plate.  
3 Rf of a polar compound is smaller than that of a non-polar compound.  
4 Rf is an integral value.  

Ans.

(3)

More polar compounds are absorbed more in chromatography hence have lower Rf than less polar compounds. Those compounds which are adsorbed more (i.e. more polar) are retained at top. Solvent is not adsorbed, so solvent runs fastest in chromatography.