The whole idea behind chromatography is trying to separatecompounds based on a certain property. For example, for thin layerchromatography, you have a solvent (mobile phase) and a TLC plate(stationary phase). You spot your compound at the bottom of theplate, and let the solvent run upward. Depending on the affinity ofthe different compounds to either the stationary or mobile phase,you\'d see different compounds travelling up the plate at differentrates (Rf values). If, for example, you had a solvent that washighly nonpolar, and a stationary phase that is highly polar, thatmeans that nonpolar stuff would move more with the mobile phase,while polar stuff would move very little, since it likes thestationary phase better. Solution The whole idea behind chromatography is trying to separatecompounds based on a certain property. For example, for thin layerchromatography, you have a solvent (mobile phase) and a TLC plate(stationary phase). You spot your compound at the bottom of theplate, and let the solvent run upward. Depending on the affinity ofthe different compounds to either the stationary or mobile phase,you\'d see different compounds travelling up the plate at differentrates (Rf values). If, for example, you had a solvent that washighly nonpolar, and a stationary phase that is highly polar, thatmeans that nonpolar stuff would move more with the mobile phase,while polar stuff would move very little, since it likes thestationary phase better..