Why do deciduous leaves change color and fall from the trees each Autumn?  Look at these leaves carefully. What do you wonder? What happens to the green pigment in the leaves? Are the orange, red, and yellow colors always in the leaves or are those pigments created in the fall?

Click here for the  Safeshare link for the following video. Click here to view full screen.

Click here for the Safeshare link for the following video. Click here for full screen viewing.

Watch the story on this Safeshare link.

Try this easy chromatography experiment to determine which pigments are in the leaves you find from trees or plants outside or use house plants. Chromatography is a process that can be used to isolate the various components of a mixture based on the different rates of absorption. Paper chromatography uses capillary force to move the solvent and the sample up the paper strip. The most soluble compounds of the sample will go farther. The number of bands tells you how many compounds are in your substance.

Watch the video for directions. I used filter paper, but coffee filters will work too. Click here for the Safeshare link. Click here to view full screen.

Continue a discussion about pigment. Why is it important to eat the rainbow (foods of different colors)? Why is this apple red and green?

The leaves below all came from the same maple tree. Why do you see a range of colors? Observe and wonder.