You have two compounds that you have spotted on a TLC plate. One compound is more polar than the other. You run the TLC plate with neat hexanes and find that only one spot moved a small distance up the plate. Next you made a 50/50 mixture of hexanes and ethyl acetate. What might you expect to see on your TLC plate (what would the spots do)?

The two spots will move up the plate.

Explanation:

We have to first understand the rudiments of chromatography. In chromatography, there is a stationary phase and a mobile phase. The stationary phase does not move. In this case, the stationary phase is the TLC plate.

The mobile phase is the solvent used to perform the chromatography. The movement of the spots depends on the composition of the solvent.

When neat hexane was used, only one spot was moved. This must be due to the interaction of the nonpolar hexane with the less polar compound. However, when a 50/50 mixture of hexanes and ethyl acetate is used, the both compounds are found to move up the plate.