Question

Equal amounts of methylene blue (319.85 g/mol) and potassium permanganate (158.034 g/mol) dyes were added to identical agar plates and allowed to diffuse. After 24 hours, the halo was measured to see how far the dyes had moved. Based on this information, which dye do you think will diffuse faster through the agar, and why?

Answer 1

Potassium permanganate.

Step-by-step explanation:

Both substances are dyes, but the methylene blue has a bigger molecular mass (319.85 g/mol), that means that the particles are bigger in comparison with the potassium permanganate that has a molecular mass of 158.034 g/mol.

Since the molar mass is the half in the case of potassium permanganate, it can be considered that the particle size is the half in size. In the agar, a smaller particle will present less resistance to flow, that means that it going to move faster.