Name……………………………………………………

Chitkara college of Pharmacy

MCQ on Chromatography

1. Chromatography is a physical method that is used to separate and analyse __________

a) Simple mixtures
b) Complex mixtures
c) Viscous mixtures
d) Metals
2. In which type of chromatography, the stationary phase held in a narrow tube and the
mobile phase is forced through it under pressure?
a) Column chromatography
b) Planar chromatography
c) Liquid chromatography
d) Gas chromatography
3. Which of the following cannot be used as an adsorbent in Column adsorption
chromatography?
a) Magnesium oxide
b) Silica gel
c) Activated alumina
d) Potassium permanganate
4. In chromatography, the stationary phase can be ___________ supported on a solid.
a) Solid or liquid
b) Liquid or gas
c) Solid only
d) Liquid only
5. Which of the following types of chromatography involves the separation of substances in
a mixture over a 0.2mm thick layer of an adsorbent?
a) Gas liquid
b) Column
c) Thin layer
d) Paper
6. Chromatography cannot be used to purify volatile substances.
a) True
b) False
7. In Column chromatography, the stationary phase is made of _________ and the mobile
phase is made of _________
a) Solid, liquid
b) Liquid, liquid
c) Liquid, gas
d) Solid, gas
8. In which of the following type of paper, chromatography does the mobile phase move
horizontally over a circular sheet of paper?
a) Ascending paper chromatography
b) Descending paper chromatography
c) Radial paper chromatography
d) Ascending – descending chromatography
9. Liquid chromatography can be performed in which of the following ways?
a) Only in columns
b) Only on plane surfaces
c) Either in columns or on plane surfaces
d) Neither in columns nor on plane surfaces
10. Which of the following is the distance that the solute moves while undergoing one
partition?
a) Retention distance
b) Distribution constant
c) Plate height
d) Column packing length
11. Which of the following conditions will cause the efficiency of the column to increase?
a) Plate number becomes greater, plate height becomes smaller
b) Plate number becomes smaller, plate height becomes smaller
c) Plate number becomes greater, plate height becomes larger
d) Plate number becomes greater, plate height becomes larger
12. It is more difficult to measure the width at half peak height than the base width in the
detector output.
a) True
b) False
13. The solute, while moving in the column is always in equilibrium with both the stationary
phase and the mobile phase.
a) True
b) False
14. Which of the following steps takes place after injection of feed in Column
chromatography?
a) Detection of components
b) Separation in the column
c) Elution from the column
d) Collection of eluted component
15. Components with a strong attraction to the support move more slowly than components
with weak attraction.
a) True
b) False
16. What happens during the ‘elution from the column’ phase in chromatography?
a) Components with greatest affinity elute first
b) Components with least affinity elute first
c) Components elute in a random manner
d) Components elute according to their concentration in the mixture
17. In chromatogram, the position of peaks on the time axis can be used to determine which
of the following?
a) Components of the sample
b) Amount of component in the sample
c) Column efficiency
d) Column resolution
18. In chromatogram, the area under the peak can be used to determine which of the
following?
a) Components of the sample
b) Amount of component in the sample
c) Column efficiency
d) Column resolution
19. Which of the following types of chromatography involves the process, where the mobile
phase moves through the stationary phase by the influence of gravity or capillary action?
a) Column Chromatography
b) High Pressure Liquid Chromatography
c) Gas Chromatography
d) Planar Chromatography
20. Using Chromatogram as detector in Chromatography, a graph is obtained between
____________ and time.
a) Quantity
b) Density
c) Concentration
d) Specific gravity
21. In older analytical methods, which of the following methods were used to allow
movement of the mobile phase?
a) Pumps
b) Pressure
c) Gravity
d) Blowing air into the column
22. How is the molar concentration of solute in stationary phase related to molar
concentration of solute in the mobile phase?
a) Directly proportional
b) Inversely proportional
c) Equal
d) Not related
23. If the value of the distribution constant ‘k’ is one, then what could be inferred about the
distribution of solute?
a) Its distribution in stationary phase is greater
b) Its distribution in mobile phase is greater
c) It is equally distributed in stationary and mobile phase
d) It is distributed in a random manner
24. The time taken by the analyte after sample injection to reach the detector is called
_________
a) Dead time
b) Solute migration rate
c) Adjusted retention time
d) Retention time
25. The time required for a molecule of the mobile phase to pass through the column is called
___________
a) Dead time
b) Solute migration rate
c) Adjusted retention time
d) Retention time
26. Adjusted retention time is the remaining retention time after subtracting __________
from ___________
a) Solute migration rate and retention time
b) Retention time and solute migration rate
c) Dead time and retention time
d) Retention time and dead time
27. Which of the following is the volume of mobile phase required to make a solute band
move from the point of injection through the column to the detector?
a) Dead volume
b) Retention volume
 c) Void volume
d) Adjusted retention volume
28. Which of the following is defined as the ratio of moles of solute in stationary phase to the
moles of solute in the mobile phase?
a) Distribution constant
b) Volumetric phase ratio
c) Retention factor
d) Total porosity
29. Which of the following is the ratio of the interstitial volume of packing to the volume of
its total mass?
a) Distribution constant
b) Volumetric phase ratio
c) Retention factor
d) Total porosity
30. Which of the following is the ratio of the length of column packing to dead time?
a) Average linear rate of solute migration
b) Average linear rate of mobile migration
c) Relative migration rate
d) Selectivity factor
31. Which of the following is the ratio of a length of column packing to retention time?
a) Average linear rate of solute migration
b) Average linear rate of mobile migration
c) Relative migration rate
d) Selectivity factor
32. Retention distance is the distance between point of injection and minimum peak in the
recorder or computer generated chart.
a) True
b) False
33. Which of the following is the expression for Eddy diffusion in the column, if ‘γ’
represents obstruction factor, ‘dp’ represents particle diameter, ‘DM’ represents Solute
diffusion co-efficient and ‘λ’ represents function for packing uniformity?
a) λ dM
b) 2 γ DM
c) DM γ
d) λ/dM
34. Which of the following is the expression for longitudinal diffusion in the column, if ‘γ’
represents obstruction factor, ‘dM’ represents particle diameter, ‘DM’ represents Solute
diffusion co-efficient and ‘λ’ represents function for packing uniformity?
a) λ dM
b) 2 γ DM
 c) DM γ
d) λ/dM
35. In gas-liquid chromatography, when films are used in the interior of the capillary column,
then what is the value of Eddy diffusion?
a) Greater than 1
b) Less than 1
c) Zero
d) Less than zero
36. For an unpacked coated capillary column, the obstruction factor takes which of the
following values?
a) 0
b) 0.6
c) 1
d) 1.6
37. For an unpacked coated capillary column, the obstruction factor takes which of the
following values?
a) 0
b) 0.6
c) 1
d) 1.6
38. Base line resolution is achieved when degree of resolution/separation is ______
a) 1
b) 0
c) 0.5
d) 1.5
39. Which of the following is the disadvantage of reciprocating pump used in liquid
chromatography?
a) Produces pulsed flow
b) Corrosive components
c) Does not have small hold-up value
d) Does not have moderate flow rate
40. Which of the following is not a disadvantage of Pneumatic pumps used in liquid
chromatography?
a) Pulsed output
b) Dependent on solvent viscosity
c) Dependent on back pressure
d) Inconvenient for solvent gradient elution
41. Which of the following is not a desired characteristic of pulse dampers or flow
smootheners used in liquid chromatography?
a) Easy mobile phase change over
 b) Constant flow must be maintained
c) Should be effective at low system pressure
d) Maximal dead volume
42. Which of the following will improve the efficiency of the separation process in liquid
chromatography?
a) Increase in sample size, increase in column diameter
b) Reduction in sample size, increase in column diameter
c) Increase in sample size, reduction in column diameter
d) Reduction in sample size, reduction in column diameter
43. Which of the following are the practical problems that arise due to the decrease in
column diameter?
a) Requirement of large particle size and high pressure drop
b) Requirement of large particle size and low pressure drop
c) Requirement of small particle size and high pressure drop
d) Requirement of small particle size and low pressure drop
44. Which of the following is not true about the guard column used in liquid
chromatography?
a) It filters particles that clog the separation column
b) It extends the lifetime of separation column
c) It allows particles that cause precipitation upon contact with stationary or mobile phase
d) The size of packing varies with the type of protection needed
45. Which of the following columns are not used in liquid or high performance liquid
chromatography?
a) Analytical column
b) Separation column
c) Guard column
d) Capillary column
46. Which of the following is not a Column-type Liquid chromatography?
a) Gel permeation
b) Ion exchange
c) Liquid-solid
d) Paper
47. Which of the following is not true about High pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC)?
a) It requires high pressure for the separation of the specious
b) There is no need to vaporise the samples
c) It is performed in columns
d) It has high sensitivity
48. Which of the following is not an advantage of Syringe type pumps used in High pressure
liquid chromatography?
a) Independent of viscosity
 b) Pulse-less flow
c) High pressure capability
d) Unlimited solvent capacity
49. Which of the following is not true about solvent programming which is done in high
performance liquid chromatography?
a) It provides unequal bandwidths
b) It provides fast overall separation
c) It provides maximum resolution
d) It provides maximum sensitivity
50. Which of the following pulse damper takes up some amount of the pulsation energy
which is released to provide smooth pressure without pulsations?
a) Flexible bellows or compressible gas passed through tee columns
b) Flexible inert diaphragm
c) Electronic pulse damper
d) Electrical pulse damper
51. Which of the following is not a characteristic of the syringe pump used in high pressure
liquid chromatography?
a) Pressure capability is high
b) Maintenance is frequent
c) Limited reservoir capability
d) Slight change of flow rate when extremely high pressure compresses the solvent
52. Syringe pumps used in High pressure liquid chromatography are most suitable for which
of the following columns?
a) Capillary columns
b) Guard columns
c) Short-fast columns
d) Small bore columns
53. Gravity feed method for solvent delivery is not used with narrow bore columns packed
with fine mesh particles.
a) True
b) False
54. Which of the following cannot be done to reduce ripple in High pressure liquid
chromatography?
a) Using bellows
b) Using restrictors
c) Using long nylon tube between pump and column
d) Avoiding the use of the solvent pump
55. Which of the following is not true about Hydraulic capacitance flow control system used
in HPLC?
a) It can be used only for liquids with low viscosity
 b) It is irrespective of solvent compressibility
c) It maintains a constant flow
d) It smoothens high pressure pump pulsations
56. Bulk property detectors used in liquid chromatography does not respond to which of the
following properties?
a) Refractive index
b) Density
c) Properties of solutes
d) Dielectric constant
57. Which of the following is not a property of a good detector used in liquid
chromatography?
a) Good sensitivity
b) Ability to function in the presence of a large background signal
c) Short response time
d) Volume of detector must be large
58. Detector selectivity is more important in Liquid chromatography than in Gas
chromatography.
a) True
b) False
59. Which of the following UV absorbance detectors provide a real time spectrum of the
component of interest?
a) Continuous wavelength detector
b) Variable wavelength detector
c) Scanning wavelength detector
d) Fixed wavelength detector
60. Fluorescence detection is less selective than absorption detection.
a) True
b) False
61. Refractive index detectors used in liquid chromatography are not based on which of the
following processes?
a) Interference
b) Refraction
c) Reflection
d) Absorption
62. Which of the following detectors can be used for detection of amino acids in protein
hydrolyzates by introducing the reagent dansylchloride in the sample?
a) Electrochemical detectors
b) Fluorescence detectors
c) Refractive index detectors
d) Thermal conductivity detectors
63. The reference cell is packed with which of the following in the Adsorption detector used
in liquid chromatography?
a) Inactive glass beads
b) Porous glass beads
c) Alumina
d) Silica
64. Which of the following detectors used in liquid chromatography is also called micro-
adsorption detector?
a) Electrochemical detectors
b) Fluorescence detectors
c) Refractive index detectors
d) Thermal detectors
65. In UV-Visible detectors, the cells are not made of which of the following materials?
a) Quartz
b) Teflon
c) Silica
d) KELF
66. Which of the following is not a type of detector used in gas chromatography?
a) Argon ionisation detector
b) Thermal conductivity detector
c) UV visible spectrometric detector
d) Electron capture detector
67. Which of the following is not an ideal characteristic of a detector used in gas
chromatography?
a) Linear response to the solutes
b) Short response time
c) High reliability
d) Sensitive to the changes in the flow rate of a carrier gas
68. Which of the following detectors have high sensitivity to all organic compounds?
a) Sulphur chemiluminescense detector
b) Thermionic emission detector
c) Flame ionization detector
d) Argon ionisation detector
69. Which of the following detectors is widely used to detect environmental samples like
chlorinated pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls?
a) Flame ionization detector
b) Thermal conductivity detector
c) Argon ionisation detector
d) Electron capture detector
70. Which of the following detector uses ultraviolet radiation from lamps to produce
ionisation of solute molecules?
a) Sulphur chemiluminescense detector
b) Thermal conductivity detector
c) Photo ionization detector
d) Electron capture detector
71. Flame ionisation detector is also known as Katharometer.
a) True
b) False
72. In which of the following detectors, the carrier gas is excited by a radioactive source and
the atoms of carrier gas are excited to a metastable state?
a) Argon ionisation detector
b) Thermionic emission detector
c) Flame ionization detector
d) Electron capture detector
73. Which of the following is not used as a heating element in a Thermal conductivity
detector?
a) Platinum
b) Gold
c) Graphite
d) Tungsten wire
74. Ion Exchange chromatography is based on
a) electrostatic attraction
b) electrical mobility of ionic species
c) adsorption chromatography
d) partition chromatography
75. In reverse phase chromatography, the stationary phase is made
a) non polar
b) polar
c) either polar or non polar
d) none of these
76. In HPTLC mean particle size of silica particles are
a) 10-20µm
b) 5-6 µm
c) 1-2 µm
d) 20-30 µm
77. The principle on which thin layer chromatography is based is that the
a) Different compounds are absorbed on an absorbent to different degrees
b) Different compounds are absorbed on an absorbent to same degrees
 c) Different compounds are adsorbed on an adsorbent to different degrees
d) Different compounds are absorbed on an absorbent to same degrees
78. The size of a thin layer of adsorbent is about
a) 0.1 mm
b) 0.2 mm
c) 0.3 mm
d) 0.4 mm
79. Select the correct statement from the following.
a) Paper chromatography is a type of partition chromatography
b) A special quality paper is used in paper chromatography
c) Chromatography paper contains water trapped in it, which acts as stationary phase
d) All of the mentioned
80. The relative adsorption of each components of the mixture is expressed in terms of its
a) Acceleration factor
b) Retardation factor
c) Both acceleration and retardation factor
d) None of the mentioned
81. Which of the following is the application of ion exchange chromatography?
a) The softening of hard water
b) The demineralisation of water
c) The separation and determination of anions
d) All of the mentioned
82. Affinity chromatography is used for the analysis and isolation of
a) Insoluble starch substances
b) Enzyme tyrosinase
c) Antibodies bound with a covalently-attached antigen on cellulose column
d) All of the mentioned
83. Purification of enzymes and proteins is done using
a) Affinity chromatography
b) Liquid chromatography
c) Column chromatography
d) Thin layer chromatography
84. Which of the following is not done using column chromatography?
a) The identification of unknown compounds
b) The determination of homogeneity of chemical substances
c) Separation of inorganic cations or complexes
d) Separation of geometric isomers
85. Which of the following is not an application of high performance liquid chromatography?
a) Analysis of proteins, drugs and explosives
b) Separation of pharmaceutical drugs
c) Elimination of undesirable substances from blood
d) Separation of lipids, fatty acids and steroids