Acknowledgements

After a long and tedious process, I am finally done with my report and my experiment was also successful. Now I feel so satisfied and relieved.

I would like to thank all the people who helped me through this SIP journey:

• Mrs Tay, my chemistry teacher who was always there whenever I need to clarify my doubts. Never did she got tired of my repeated questions and helped me through my project.
• My parents for accompanying me to buy all the apparatus and materials and tolerating all the mess I create while doing the experiment. My mom was really cooperative and cleared up my mess without complaining or scolding me.
• The lab technician who did not even asked me why and gave me a stack of chromatography filter paper when I was in desperate need of it.
• All my friends (Kunalika, Bhagya) who were there empathizing with me whenever I was in great despair. Thanks Kunal for trying to come forward to help me on the day before submission when I was really clueless and special thanks goes out to Aparna for providing me with guidance and moral support throughout the day before submission of SIP report.  

Thanks to every single one who helped me in one way or another :)

Experimental idea (video)

Real experiment

Leaf pigments of leaves plucked 4 days before the experiment

Leaf pigments of leaves plucked 6 days before the experiment

Leaf pigments of leaves plucked 2 days before the experiment

Leaf pigments of leaves plucked on the day of experiment

The pictures are not that clear but in real life, distinctive colour differences were seen in the chromatography papers.

Conclusion
The results proved my hypothesis. Anthocyanin and carotenoids are present in dead leaves, anthocyanin, chlorophyll and carotenoids are present in dying leaves and chlorophyll and carotenoids are present in healthy leaves. Leaves plucked 6 days before the experiment were dead and brown. As hypothesized, they contained both anthocyanin and carotenoids which gave them this brown color. Leaves plucked 4 days before the experiment were dying. They were brownish green. Pigments present were anthocyanin, chlorophyll and carotenoids. Leaves plucked 2 days before the experiment and he day of experiment did not really have big color differences. Both looked green and as hypothesized, pigments present were chlorophyll and carotenoids. Now this brings us to a conclusion that leaves get their brown color from anthocyanin and carotenoids, greenish brown from anthocyanin, chlorophyll and carotenoids and green from chlorophyll and carotenoids.