My education has spanned a larger than average corner of the STEM world. I have a BS in Biology (from an Engineering School), a MA in Environmental Biology and Ecology (from a Liberal Arts School) and an ME in Biological and Chemical Engineering (from a Science School). So when I saw this experiment combine plant biology and separations, I got a little excited. I tried to do the extraction version, where you place torn up leaves in acetone or rubbing alcohol, but it takes 30 minutes to extract plus another 30-90 to separate, and with an hour meeting, that wasn't going to cut it. Then, I tried rubbing some of the color onto a filter with a coin. That transfer worked well, but the rubbing alcohol is a horrible solvent! The acetone (regular nail polish remover concentrations) worked very well. The Japanese Red Maple was my best leaf, with a red, green and yellow/orange band noticeable even on an unbleached coffee filter.
