Separating Chapter 7

Mixtures
CONTEXT AREA
■ Most of the materials on Earth are mixtures, and they only have limited
uses. How can we separate mixtures to obtain the best materials for our
society to use?
■ To be able to separate mixtures, we need to know about solubility, sieves,
flotation, magnetism, inks and dyes, charcoal and static electricity.
■ This knowledge can be applied to our everyday lives, and it is used by
industry to make the common materials we use every day.

PRESCRIBED FOCUS AREAS

4.2 uses examples to illustrate how models, theories and laws contribute to an
understanding of phenomena
4.3 identifies areas of everyday life that have been affected by scientific
developments

DOMAINS
KNOWLEDGE AND 4.19 draws conclusions based on information available
UNDERSTANDING 4.21 uses creativity and imagination to suggest
plausible solutions to familiar problems
4.7 describes the observed properties of substances 4.22 completes a variety of individual and team tasks
using scientific models and theories with guidance
4.7.5 a identify some common mixtures
b identify, using examples, the importance of VALUES AND ATTITUDES
water as a solvent 4.23 demonstrates confidence and willingness to
d identify situations where the processes of make decisions and to take responsible actions
filtration, sedimentation, sieving, distillation, 4.24 respects different viewpoints and is honest, fair
chromatography, evaporation, condensation, and ethical
crystallisation and magnetic attraction are 4.25 recognises the relevance and importance in
appropriate to separate components of a lifelong learning and acknowledges the continued
mixture impact of science in many aspects of everyday
life
SKILLS 4.26 recognises the role of science in providing inform-
4.13 clarifies the purpose of an investigation and ation about issues being considered and in
produces a plan to investigate a problem increasing an understanding of the world
4.17 evaluates the relevance of data and information around them
CONCEPTS
Why separate? Importance of separating and pure substances
Use of symbols to show parts of a mixture
Filtering and sieving Sieves, strainers, filters
Particle size
Sedimentation Sedimentation, decanting, centrifuge
Magnetism Use of magnets in separating
Flotation Sinking and floating
Chromatography Separation of inks and dyes
Adsorption Adsorption onto powders
Electrostatics Use of static electricity
Large-scale separations Fractional distillation of crude oil
Froth flotation
Mineral sands
Know the properties Importance of properties
Chemical properties Chemical properties are different to physical

141
 7.1
Why separate?
Most substances we find on the Earth are mix- The mixture of these substances would look
tures. People have worked out how to separate like this:
the useful materials in a mixture. Separating mix-
tures is important because there are many uses
for the new substances that are produced.
If we draw the parts of
a pure substance as
and , the whole sub- A mixture
stance would look like A substance is impure when there is another
this: substance mixed with it. The substance which is
Pure substance

chaff
seed
inside wind blows
away chaff

wheat seeds

axehead plough

non-stick
coal gas aluminium dyes frying pan
magnesium
nickel
oxygen

hospital drinking
petrol oxygen water

compact pills and

electronics
discs ointments

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 SEPARATING MIXTURES 143

mixed with it is called the impurity. In this dia- tures. Many mixtures are made of more than two
gram, the impurity is shown with the symbol. substances mixed together. We might not be able
to see all the parts in the mixture. In most of our
experiments you can see the parts, but they are
very small. We have to use special chemical tech-
niques, such as filtering and crystallising, to sepa-
rate them.
An impurity
Sometimes people need to make mixtures
instead of separating them. Glass, paint, concrete
The hardest thing to understand about real and lots of foods are all examples of useful mix-
mixtures is that they might not look like mix- tures.

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

Most substances we find on the Earth are ________. Separating mixtures is _________ because there are many ____
for the ___ substances produced.
A substance is ______ when there is another substance _____ with it. The substance which is mixed with it is called
the ________.
The hardest thing to understand about ____ mixtures is that they might not look like ________. We might not be
able to see all the _____ in the _______. We have to use special techniques, such as _________ and
_____________, to separate them.
Sometimes people need to ____ mixtures instead of ________ them. _____, _____, ________ and ____ are all
examples of ______ mixtures.

QUESTIONS Questions 8 to 10 relate also to Chapter 2. They are

about filtration, crystallisation, and distillation.
1 What is the meaning of pure, impure, and impurity?
8 Explain how you would separate these mixtures:
2 Write a sentence with these pairs of words used in a chalk from water
their correct context: pure / mixture, b salt from sea water
impurity / impure c fresh water from sea water.
3 Show the meaning of the words pure, impure, 9 The diagram represents a mixture. If the black balls
impurity, using diagrams with , and represent an insoluble substance, and the white
symbols. balls represent a soluble substance, explain how
4 Draw what these mixtures would look like when each you would quickly separate them.
is separated into its components.
a b

5 A mixture contains particles of in a substance

10 The diagram represents a mixture of two liquids.
made of . What is the percentage of in ? How would you separate them if the black balls boil
at 50°C and the white balls boil at 150°C?

6 Why is separating substances useful to our society?

7 Name some useful mixtures.
 7.2
Filtering and sieving
Filtering is like sieving and straining. In a sieve bags let the dissolved tea go through the paper,
the largest lumps are caught and the small lumps but hold back the tea leaves.
go through the holes. Filter paper is like a sieve A colander is used to drain vegetables. It con-
with tiny holes. Lumps of chalk cannot fit sists of a sieve held in a round plastic frame.
through the holes, but the parts of a solution can. Spoons can also be used as sieves in the kitchen.
The substance caught in the filter paper is
called the residue. The substance which passes
through is called the filtrate. The filtrate has been
filtered out.

residue

filtrate

Filtrate and residue

The diagram below shows what the filter paper,

filtrate and residue would look like.

residue

filtrate

holes in paper

How filter paper separates the residue and filtrate

There are lots of filters all around us. They

might be called strainers or sieves, but they all fil-
ter. Here are some examples:
■ vegetable or rice strainer
■ lemon squeezer
■ filter bag in a vacuum cleaner
■ tea strainer
■ dust mask
■ air cleaner and oil filter in a car engine
■ lint filter in a clothes drier
■ grate in a gutter at the side of the road
■ gauze screen on a window
You might have some filter paper at home.
Percolated coffee is filtered through paper. Tea Some common filters, strainers and sieves

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 SEPARATING MIXTURES 145

AIM: To use a sieve to separate a AIM: To filter a suspension of

EXPERIMENT

EXPERIMENT
mixture vegetable juice
Your teacher will give you a mixture of sand Vegetable juice and tomato juice are suspen-
and bean bag beads in a beaker.Your task is to sions. There are crushed bits of vegetables
separate them with a sieve.You can make a (called pulp) floating in juice. Like all suspensions,
sieve with some flyscreen mesh. juice can be filtered. (The filtration is not perfect
Sieve the mixture, and separate the bean bag because some of the pulp is small enough to go
beads and sand into two beakers. Show your through filter paper.) Filter the juice suspension
teacher, and write a report in your notebook. using filter paper and a filter tunnel. Remember,
1 What difference between the beads and sand you should never eat or drink any food you have
did we use to separate them? used in the laboratory.
2 What is the best way to make the sand pass Try this experiment at home using a stocking
through the sieve as quickly as possible? as a filter. Which part of the juice has the taste:
is it the liquid or the pulp? Is this true of orange
juice too? Write a report of your findings in your
notebook. part of stocking
flyscreen rubber band
mesh
drinking glass
or jar
cut along
dotted line to
make into cone

Using flyscreen mesh to make a sieve A stocking filter

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

Filtering is like _______ and _________. The _______ lumps are caught in the sieve, and the _____ lumps go
through. ______ paper is like a sieve with ____ holes.
The substance caught in the ______ paper is called the _______. The substance which passes through is called the
________. The filtrate has been ________.
There are lots of _______ all around us. They might be called _________ or ______, but they all filter.

QUESTIONS
1 What are the meanings of the following words: filter,
solution, suspension, filtrate, residue?
2 When separating sand and salt, a
student dissolved the salt in water
and then filtered the mixture. Copy
5 In a bank, piles of coins are separated by sieving.
the diagram, and write the labels
Which coins would they sieve out first? Which coins
salt, sand, filtrate and residue on it.
would pass through the sieve? How many sieves would
3 Explain why these are filters: the bank need to separate all the coins we use?
a a gauze flyscreen on a door or
6 Propose the equipment that you would need to sieve
window
or filter the following mixtures. Use only equipment
b a strainer at the bottom of a tub or bath or sink
that you see in a supermarket or a kitchen.
c a tea bag.
a popcorn from dry rice grains
4 The following diagram shows some stones. You need b fertiliser pellets (2 mm balls) from grass cuttings
to sort them into three sizes. Which sieves, and in c frozen peas from rice grains
which order, would you use to separate the stones?
 7.3
Sedimentation
If you mix an insoluble substance such as chalk Centrifuging
with water, it will not dissolve. The chalk will
You can speed up the process of sedimentation by
quickly settle to the bottom.
using a centrifuge. A laboratory centrifuge contains
test tubes which spin at high speed. The heavier
substances move to the bottom of the test tubes.
The spin-dryer in a washing machine is an
example of a centrifuge. It spins quickly and the
water flies out through the holes in the sides. The
side of the spin-dryer is like a sieve, and the
mixing suspension settled
clothes stay in the bowl.
Centrifuges are used at the blood bank to sepa-
The sedimentation process
rate blood cells from the liquid part of the blood,
The process of letting an insoluble substance and in dairy processing plants for separating
settle to the bottom of a container is called sedi- cream from milk. Centrifuges spin fast and have a
mentation. Large, heavy particles will settle more cover around them to prevent injury to people.
quickly than small, light particles.
AIM: To see if a centrifuge speeds

DEMONSTRATION
Decanting the sedimentation process
You can use a special case of sedimentation in
How good are centrifuges? Are they worth the
your science experiments. If you let the chalk
trouble? Your teacher will prepare some muddy
settle to the bottom, then tip out the clear liquid
water with a lot of sediment in it.They will
at the top, you have decanted the liquid. This is
centrifuge half of the muddy water, and let the rest
an easy separation. Decanting means pouring off
settle naturally. Does the centrifuge speed the
a liquid to leave a sediment of insoluble substance
process of sedimentation?
behind in the container.

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

The process of letting an _________ substance ______ to the bottom of a ______ is called _____________.
Large, _____ particles will settle more _______ than _____, _____ particles.
Decanting means _______ ___ a liquid and leaving the sediment of _________ substance
behind in the _________.
A laboratory centrifuge contains test tubes which ____ at ____ _____. The _______ substances move to the ______
of the test tubes.

QUESTIONS showing what the sediments at the bottom of the

beaker would look like.
1 What is the meaning of these words: suspension,
4 Where are centrifuges used? Give two examples.
sedimentation, decanting, centrifuge?
1 2 3 5 Explain why the spin-dryer in a washing machine is a
2 Which of these
type of centrifuge?
mixtures will
settle quickest? 6 Fast-flowing rivers are an example of a suspension.
a Describe how the gravel, sand and silt would
settle as sediments.
3 Imagine that the suspensions in Question 2 were b Does this change, depending on the speed of the
mixed together and allowed to settle. Draw a diagram river? Explain your answer clearly.

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 SEPARATING MIXTURES 147

7.4
Magnetism
Some objects are magnetic. Magnetic substances from glass clippings, and separating iron paper
are attracted to a magnet. They are made of iron clips from brass ones. Some plastic paper clips are
or a mixture containing iron. magnetic because they are made of iron with a
Magnetism can be used to separate some plastic coating.
objects. Some examples are separating iron nails Magnetic separators are used in factories. Some
kinds of beach sands have magnetic grains, which
are separated from the other grains with a mag-
AIM: To separate iron filings
EXPERIMENT

netic roller.
from chalk
Your teacher will give you a mixture of iron
filings and a powdery chalk or sulfur. Use a
magnet to separate the iron filings. Cover the roller with
magnet with cling wrap, and be careful not to magnets in it
get any iron on it.

magnetic non-magnetic
material material

A magnetic roller separates useful minerals in beach sands

A magnet can be used to separate iron filings from a
non-magnetic powder

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

Magnetic substances are attracted to a ______. They are made of ____ or a mixture containing ____.
_________ is used to separate objects. ________ separators are used in factories. Some kinds of _____ sands have
________ grains, which are separated from the other grains with a ________ roller.

QUESTIONS explain how you could do it. (There is more than one
method.)
1 Which of these substances would be attracted to a
4 Sand and salt are separated by filtration. What steps,
magnet: brass drawing pins, a plastic sieve, filter
and in what order, would you use to separate a
paper, nails used in building, filter funnel, retort
mixture of iron filings, sand and salt?
stand, tripod stand, beaker?
5 A cleaner in a stationery shop accidentally knocked
2 After you had done this, how could you separate the
over a bulk delivery of glue sticks, steel paper clips
large nails from the small nails?
and brass drawing pins. You are given a mixture of
3 If you owned a large factory and had to separate these in a large cardboard carton. Propose ways to
thousands of tonnes of iron nails from match sticks, separate this mixture.
 7.5
Flotation
Sawdust and sand are simple to separate. Sawdust sawdust
floats in water, and sand sinks. This is called flotation.
Oil and water do not mix. Oil is lighter than oil
water, and floats on top of the water.
Two liquids that do not mix can be separated water
by decanting or by using a separating funnel. The
tap at the bottom is opened to allow the heavier sand A separating funnel
liquid to flow out. The operator closes the tap
before the lighter liquid comes out. plant, then the cream separates and floats on top
Full cream milk is a mixture of milk and cream. of the milk. Salad dressing is a mixture of oil and
If the milk is not homogenised in the processing water, with flavouring agents.

AIM: To separate four substances

EXPERIMENT

In this section your task is to separate a mixture of sand, iron filings, sawdust and salt. How would you do it?
You already know something about each substance. Use the table below to help you decide the best method.
Substance Soluble in water? Magnetic? Floats in water?
sand no no no Tips:
• Sawdust soaks up water, then
salt yes no no sinks. Do not leave the sawdust
sawdust no no yes in the water for too long.
iron filings no yes no • Iron filings will rust if they get
wet. Keep them dry.
Before you start the experiment, answer these
questions. 3 When your teacher has approved your method
1 Which property would you use to separate each of separation, separate the mixture. Collect each
substance? substance on a piece of paper towel, except the
2 What is the best order in which to separate salt which will be dissolved. Show the separated
them? Write the steps neatly in your note book. substances to your teacher.

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

Sawdust ______ in water, and sand _____. This is called _________.

Oil and water do not ___. Oil is _______ than water, and ______ on top of the water.
Two liquids which do not mix can be separated using a __________ ______.

QUESTIONS 3 Which pairs of liquids below could be separated

using a separating funnel?
1 What is a separating funnel?
a lemonade and water
2 Which pairs of substances could be separated using b kerosene and water
flotation? c methylated spirits and water
a nails and lawn mower cuttings d cooking oil and water
b sand and iron filings e cooking oil and kerosene
c sand from stones
4 Some types of salad dressing consist of vinegar (a
d bean-bag beads from stones.
water solution), cooking oil and small pieces of
vegetables. Propose how to separate this mixture.

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 SEPARATING MIXTURES 149

7.6
Chromatography
Dyes and inks are used to colour things we use. your name
and details
They are mixed to make the colours for food, in pencil
clothes and pens. It is easy to find out if the colour
in a felt pen is a pure dye or a mixture of dyes. The spot of ink separated
or dye colours
process is called chromatography.
Chromatography is the separation of coloured
chemicals. It works because some are more sol-
uble than others. It only works for soluble dyes,
solvent
like in food and pens, not the dyes in clothes. (e.g. water)
Paper chromatography uses paper to separate the start finish
parts in a mixture. The most soluble dyes end up Paper chromatography
higher on the paper than the less soluble dyes.
The way to do a paper chromatography is Water proof pens have dyes and inks that are
shown in the diagram. A special paper is used for not soluble in other solvents such as methylated
chromatography, but filter paper can also be used. spirits and turpentine. These solvents can be used
Paper towel is not suitable because it soaks up in chromatography. Note that they are flammable
water too quickly. You can cut a strip from a and volatile (evaporate easily). They should only
filter paper circle, and fold it so that the strip be used in a fume cupboard and not poured down
touches the water in a beaker or jar. the drain.
EXPERIMENT

AIM: To separate dyes

Set up a chromatography experiment,
either in a test tube or a beaker. The
drawings show you three methods. Use
the method which best suits you and the
equipment you have. These separations
can be done at home as well as at
school. Separate the ink in water-soluble Paper strip cut Kebab stick holds paper Strip folded from filter
to fit into test tube strip in beaker or jar paper circle over a beaker or jar
felt tip pens or in food dye.
Three ways to set up a paper chromatography experiment

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

Chromatography is the separation of ________ chemicals. It works because some are more _______ than
others. The most _______ dyes end up ______ on the paper than the ____ soluble ____. Paper
chromatography uses _____ to separate the parts in a _______. A special paper is used for ______________.

QUESTIONS use for chromatography, you should not use biro or

felt tip pen. Pencil is best. Why is this?
1 What is the meaning of chromatography?
4 Name some other dyes and solvents that could be
2 Why are soluble dyes used in this method?
used in chromatography.
3 When you write your name on the paper strips you
 7.7
Adsorption
Have you ever touched wet paint? Do you Activated carbon is used in many factories to
remember how your fingers stuck to it? We say remove impurities. The impurities stick onto the
that the paint is sticky. Many substances have this outside of the tiny grains. Carbon removes the
property of stickiness. Two examples are honey brown colour from brown sugar when it is being
and glue. converted into white sugar. Many water purifiers
Some substances are not sticky to us, but are contain canisters of carbon, which the water passes
sticky to dyes and many other chemicals. The through. These purifiers both filter and adsorb.
chemicals stick to the outside of the tiny grains of
the substances. The tinier the grains, the more
chemicals that can stick to them.

EXPERIMENT
Two of these substances are magnesium oxide AIM: To remove colour from water
and charcoal. Magnesium oxide is a white pow-
1 Prepare a solution of red food dye by dissolving
der that is sticky to some types of food dye.
five drops in 200 mL of water. Add a level
Charcoal is the common name for burnt wood. It
teaspoon of white magnesium oxide powder.
is mostly carbon. You can make charcoal, or buy
Warm and stir for a few minutes, then filter.
it as a powder. It is light and dusty just like baby
Observe the colour of the magnesium oxide
powder, only black. Charcoal which has been
and the filtrate. Where is the food dye?
steamed or heated in a special way is called acti-
vated charcoal. Sometimes it is called activated 2 Your teacher will give you a solution of litmus
carbon. dye dissolved in water. Litmus dye comes from
red cabbages, and can be pink or blue in colour.
The dye is adsorbed onto carbon. Take 50 mL
Large grain The same grain,
of magnesium when crushed into of the solution, and add one level teaspoon of
oxide many smaller activated carbon. Stir the solution, and warm it
grains, can absorb
much more dye. gently. Filter through filter paper.
Only a fraction of Write a report of the experiment. How effective
the grains are shown.
is the adsorption process? (Is the water colour-
less, or tainted with colour?)
The surface area of grains depends on their size

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

Some substances are not ______ to us, but are sticky to ____ and many other _________.
Magnesium oxide is a _____ ______ that is sticky to some _____ of food ___. Activated ______ is used in many
_________ to remove __________.

QUESTIONS activated carbon in water and

then drink it. What would this
1 What are the meanings of adsorb
do in your stomach?
and absorb? What do paper towels
do? What does charcoal do? 4 The photograph shows a person
wearing a gas mask. It works by
2 What is activated charcoal? How is
filtration and adsorption.
it different to normal charcoal?
Explain how.
3 One cure for an upset stomach or
similar pains is to stir some A gas mask filters out harmful particles;
some can even filter out gases

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 SEPARATING MIXTURES 151

7.8
Electrostatics
When some types of objects are rubbed together, going up the chim-
they produce electricity. This sort of electricity is ney. A device that
called static electricity. You see and feel it when uses this idea is called
you rub your feet on nylon carpet, rub woollen an electrostatic sepa-
slacks on a plastic chair, or run a comb through rator. Another common
dry hair. method of removing
Objects that have lots of static electricity can particles from chim-
attract bits of paper, hair and grains of chemicals. ney smoke is by filtra-
This is another method of separation. It is called tion.
electrostatic separation. Many cleaning cloths
have a small electro-
Electrostatic separators static charge.
In chimney smoke, some of the particles are Dust is attracted to
charged, and are attracted to a charged grate these cloths when
or grill. The charged grate is often connected to a you wipe them over
battery, so it does not lose its charge. When the smooth surfaces such
particles touch the charged grate they fall down- as window sills.
wards. This reduces the amount of smoke and ash An electrostatic separator

AIM: To perform an electrostatic 2 Pieces of paper and cardboard can be separated

EXPERIMENT

separation using a fan or a hair dryer. Which method is

better: electrostatics, or wind from a fan?
Rub a piece of perspex rod or an ebonite rod,
which your teacher can give you. Use the part of
the rod you have rubbed to separate:
• tiny pieces of paper and cardboard
• salt and pepper (make sure they are both dry).
1 How effective is electrostatics as a method of
separation? Using a charged rod

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

Objects that have lots of ______ ___________ can attract bits of _____, hair and ______ of chemicals. This is
another method of __________. It is called _____________ separation.
In _______ smoke some of the dust particles are charged, and are attracted to a _____ or _____. When the
_________ touch the _______ grate they fall _________. This is called an _____________ separator.

QUESTIONS 3 The charged rods or grates in an electrostatic

separator are connected to a battery. Why is this?
1 What are two ways to remove smoke from factory
4 How do household cleaning cloths work?
chimneys?
5 A big problem with electrostatic separators is making
2 Tiny pieces of paper and cardboard can be separated
the dust safe for transport. It is hot, dry, and very
in many ways. What are two methods mentioned in
dusty. How could you make the dust safe?
this section?
 7.9
Large-scale separations
Separating mixtures is essential to our society and Froth flotation
our way of life. Some separations are done on a
Froth flotation separates valuable metal ores from
large scale, involving thousands of tonnes of
sand and rock. The diagrams show how it works.
chemicals.
By themselves, ore and sand will not separate,
Fractional distillation no matter how much they are shaken or stirred.
But if a small amount of kerosene is added, the
Crude oil is oil that comes out of the ground. It is ore is easily separated. This is because the ore is
a mixture of chemicals such as petrol, tar, oil, dis- adsorbed onto kerosene. When the kerosene is
solved gases and kerosene. Crude oil is also called shaken or bubbles are blown through it, air bub-
petroleum. bles with the kerosene and ore float to the top.
Each liquid in the crude oil mixture has a The froth can be skimmed off and recycled. This
different boiling point. This difference enables the method is used to separate lead, zinc and copper
chemicals to be separated. The method of separa- ores from sand and clay.
tion is called a fractional distillation. The
separation occurs in a column called a fraction- Gases, including
ating column. In an oil refinery, bottled gas, natural
the fractionating column can be gas.
40 metres high.
In the diagram, the gases in
crude oil are shown as blue Temperature
inside column
circles. The different liquids rise
50ºC
to different heights, depending Liquids with low
boiling point, such as
on their boiling points. The petrol.
lower the boiling point, the
higher in the column the
100ºC
vapours travel. The red circles
represent tar and waxes, which Liquids such as
melt but do not boil. In a real kerosene, used for
aviation fuel, plastics,
fractionating column, liquids are 200ºC other chemicals.
taken from the column at more
than three places.
Crude oil from different parts Liquids with high
of the world has different com- 300ºC boiling point, such as
positions. Once separated, the oil used for
lubrication and fuel
components can be changed in furnaces.
into different products, depend-
400ºC
ing on the demand for them.
Petroleums from different
parts of the world have varying
compositions of low and high
boiling point fractions.
Solids, such as asphalt,
Crude oil is
wax, grease.
heated to 400ºC
(These are molten in
the fractionating column.)

Fractional distillation of crude oil

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 SEPARATING MIXTURES 153

Mineral sands
Some of the sand on NSW beaches contains grains of
rutile, zircon, and ilmenite. These substances are
valuable, but they must be separated out before
they can be used. The first step is to separate the
sand. Sand is not as heavy, so it washes away quickly.
The waste sand and water is pumped back onto the
land.
The remaining valuable grains are separated
using electrostatic and magnetic methods. Zircon
does not become electrically charged and it is
removed first. Then a magnetic separator is used.
Ilmenite is magnetic and rutile is not.
Mineral sands have many uses. Rutile and
ilmenite contain the metal titanium. Titanium is
stronger than steel but only half as heavy. Rutile is
used as a white pigment in paint and paper.
Zircons are used for making abrasives, paints, glass
and rubber.
air bubbles
with kerosene
and metal ore

water
metal ore water
and sand
sand Froth flotation in a factory

How froth flotation works

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

Crude oil is oil which comes out of the ______. It is a mixture of chemicals such as ______, ___, ___, dissolved
_____ and ________.
Each liquid in the crude oil _______ has a different _______ _____. The method of separation is called a
__________ ____________. The separation occurs in a column called a _____________ column.
Froth _________ works because the ore is adsorbed onto ________. When the kerosene is shaken or _______ are
blown through it, air bubbles with the ________ and ___ float to the top. The _____ can be _______ off and
________.
Minerals in sands are ________, but they must be _________ out before they can be ____. Sand is not as _____ as
the ________. The remaining ________ grains are separated using _____________ and ________ methods.

QUESTIONS 4 Name the three processes used to separate mineral

sands?
1 Explain in words what is meant by fractional
5 What are some uses of mineral sands?
distillation and froth flotation.
6 In separating crude oil into its components:
2 Froth flotation is a mixture of two methods of
a Why is a flotation method not used?
separation described earlier. What are they?
b Why can fractional distillation be used?
3 What are some products which you have seen or used
7 Draw a flowchart showing the separation of grains of
recently which were separated from crude oil by
sand, rutile, zircon and ilmenite.
fractional distillation?
 7.10
Know the properties
The experiment in this section is to separate a There are many chemical substances, and they
mixture of six substances. How would you do it? have different physical properties. No one can
The key to any separation is to know the proper- remember them all. Chemists look up the proper-
ties of each substance in the mixture. ties in data books, or on computers. There are lists
Properties are the features of each substance. of useful data on thousands of chemicals.
Some properties of water are its colour, the tem- The separations we have studied in this section
perature at which it boils (its boiling point), how have relied on physical properties such as solubil-
runny it is (its viscosity), and its density. Every ity, magnetism, flotation, adsorption onto carbon,
substance has different properties to every other and electrostatics. Properties such as colour are
substance. not useful in separating mixtures, but they are
Properties which do not change how the sub- important to many people, such as an artist who
stance reacts are called physical properties. wishes to use them in pottery or painting.
Physical properties can be used to work out how
to separate different substances.

AIM: To separate six substances Substance Soluble? Magnetic? Floats Adsorbed

EXPERIMENT

Your teacher will give you a small container with or onto

a mixture of the substances listed. It is your task, sinks? charcoal?
with your experiment group, to separate these sand
substances using the properties shown. lead pellets
1 Copy the table into your note book, and sawdust
complete it. Confirm with your group that you iron filings
are correct, or check with your teacher. litmus dye
2 Plan the method of separation, and write it out copper sulfate
in point form or as a diagram. Check your
order of separations with your teacher before your teacher small pieces of paper towel with sand,
you start. lead pellets, iron filings and sawdust on them, and a
3 After you have separated the substances, show solution of copper sulfate in a beaker.You won’t be
able to show the litmus dye.

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

Properties are the ________ of each substance. Every substance has different __________ to every other substance.
These properties can be used in ___________ and they do not ______ the substance that we are separating.
Properties which do not change the type of substance are called ________ properties.
The separations we have studied in this chapter have relied on ________ properties such as __________,
magnetism, _________, __________ onto carbon and electrostatics.

QUESTIONS c lead pellets and iron filings

d lead pellets and sand
1 What do these words mean: property, physical e salt crystals and sand grains
property, data book?
3 What are the physical properties we use to separate
2 What properties would you use to separate: these substances from others: iron filings, felt pen
a sawdust and sand ink, litmus dye, salt, sawdust, sand.
b iron filings and sand
154
 SEPARATING MIXTURES 155

7.11
Chemical properties
In the experiments in this chapter we have sepa-
rated mixtures of substances. We did not change
the substances, only separated them or purified
them. These are physical separations, because the
substance is still the same. iron oxide carbon iron carbon monoxide

Some separations change the substances. A Making iron

new chemical is made. These changes are called
chemical changes. Chemical changes are useful
because they allow us to obtain chemical sub-

EXPERIMENT
stances which are not found naturally on Earth.
AIM: To separate aluminium from a
Iron ore contains the metal iron. Iron ore is mixture of metals
made of iron oxide mixed with sand. To separate Your teacher will give you a mixture of small
the sand, a physical change is needed. To separate pieces of magnesium and aluminium. These
the iron, a chemical change is needed. metals have similar physical properties and cannot
be separated using the methods discussed in this
chapter.
One major chemical property in which these
two chemicals are different is their reactivity in
acid. Magnesium reacts with acid and dissolves,
while aluminium does not.
Add 50 mL of dilute sulfuric acid to the
mixture of metals. When the magnesium metal
P H YS I C AL C HEMIC AL has dissolved, filter to remove the pieces of
S E PA R ATIO N S EPARATIO N aluminium. The magnesium is present in solution
the chemic a l t h e c h e mic a l as magnesium sulfate. It can be recovered by
substan c e s su b st a n c e s a re crystallisation. Note that the atoms of magnesium
re mai n th e sa me changed
are now in a new chemical substance. This is a
chemical change.
Physical and chemical changes

COPY AND COMPLETE

CHECKPOINT:

Some separations ______ the substances. A new ________ is made. These changes are called ________ changes.
Chemical _______ are useful because they allow us to obtain chemical __________ which are not found _________
on Earth.
Iron ore contains the metal ____. Iron ore is made of ____ _____ mixed with ____. To separate the sand, a
________ change is needed. To separate the iron, a ________ change is needed.

QUESTIONS 2 In the diagram that represents the removal of sand

from iron ore, what colour circles represent the sand?
1 What is a physical change? What is a chemical Which represent the iron ore?
change? What is the difference between a physical
3 In the second diagram showing the making of iron,
change and chemical change?
what colours are iron, oxygen and carbon monoxide?
 Review and Research
Review questions 3 The lawn mower won’t start. Someone left it in
the rain, and water has got into the petrol
1 Use the diagrams at the bottom of the page to tank. Draw what a water and petrol mixture
help answer these questions. Review Activities would look like, and explain how you could
1.7 and 2.4 before commencing these separate them using an empty coffee jar.
questions. 4 In hospitals, blood cells are separated from
Use the letters A, B, C or D to answer these blood serum using a centrifuge. How does a
questions: centrifuge work? Where in the centrifuge tubes
a used to obtain salt from sea water would you find the heavy parts of the blood?
b used to obtain fresh water from sea water 5 Your little sister has thrown some nails onto
c used to separate sand from water the grass. How can you quickly remove the
d used to separate ground chalk from water nails from the grass before mowing it?
e used to crystallise copper sulfate from water
f uses a condenser 6 Rescue workers often wear gas masks when
g is called decanting working in dangerous areas. The air they
h is called crystallisation breathe is passed through a carbon-filled
i is called distillation cartridge. The cartridges are replaced often.
j is called filtration What is the purpose of the carbon cartridges?
Why are they replaced?
2 How would you separate the following? The
methods of separation are listed below, and 7 You have purchased some lawn fertiliser, and
each answer is only used once. you think that there may be some sand in it.
• chromatography How could you quickly check for sand in the
• use a magnet fertiliser? (Hint: lawn fertiliser is very soluble.)
• use a sieve 8 List two ways you could separate 50 mm long
• centrifuging steel nails from bamboo rods of the same size.
• distillation
• flotation 9 A spin-dryer in a washing machine is a sieve
• crystallisation and a centrifuge at the same time. Explain why
• adsorption it is a centrifuge, and why it is a sieve.
a iron filings from dry sand 10 Draw a diagram and label the filtrate and
b obtain salt from sea water residue. Which is soluble and which is
c remove coloured dye from water insoluble?
d separate sawdust from sand Remember back to Chapters 1 and 2. You
e separate the colours in biro ink will need to know about crystallisation and
f separate cream from milk distillation, and the methods of separation in
g removes stones from sand this chapter, before starting on the next
h obtain pure water from sea water question.

A B C D

156
 SEPARATING MIXTURES 157

11 In the following questions, use the answers v iron nails from match sticks
below. Write the number corresponding to the vi lead pellets from sand
answer in your note book. The answers to vii poisonous gas from the air you breathe
select from are: viii dust from air
ix dust from chimney smoke
1 filtration or sieve
x sand from sugar
2 decanting
12 What is the difference in meaning between the
3 distillation
words in each pair?
4 flotation a soluble and insoluble
5 crystallisation b solution and suspension
6 magnetism c physical and chemical changes
7 centrifuging d sedimentation and centrifuging
e solute and solvent
8 adsorption
f magnetic and non-magnetic
9 chromatography g adsorption and absorption
10 electrostatics
13 What is the meaning of these words:
a How would you separate the following? desalination, distillate, activated charcoal,
i kerosene and water physical properties, chemical properties?
ii salt and sand
14 The child you have been baby-sitting has
iii sawdust and sand
mixed the dried peas, rice and sugar. You have
iv iron filings and sand
four sieves to separate them.
v copper sulfate and sand
vi water and sand
vii colours in dye
viii sand and clay
ix colours in triple dye
x pieces of paper from cardboard
b How would you remove the following
impurities?
i pepper from salt and pepper Which sieves, in which order, would you use?
ii coloured dye mixed with water
15 Complete a table of properties of the following
iii copper sulfate from a copper sulfate
objects. Design a method you could use to
solution
separate them if they were all mixed together.
iv water from a copper sulfate solution

glass marble steel ball bearing bean bag filling sugar grain sugar cube lead pellet
(15 mm) (15 mm) (5 mm) (1 mm) (15 mm) (3 mm)

Object Size Soluble? Magnetic? Floats in water?

Glass marble ……… ……… ……… ………
Steel ball bearings ……… ……… ……… ………
Bean bag filling ……… ……… ……… ………
Sugar grains ……… ……… ……… ………
Sugar cubes ……… ……… ……… ………
Lead pellets ……… ……… ……… ………
158 SEPARATING MIXTURES

16 You have been given a mixture of glass

marbles, bean bag balls, lead pellets and steel
ball bearings. A separation is shown in the
flow chart below.
Identify the components of the mixture
labelled 1, 2 and 3.
GLASS MARBLES BEAN BAG BALLS
2 MM SIEVE MAGNET FLOTATION
BEAN BAG BALLS
LEAD PELLETS
STEEL BALL BEARINGS

1 2 3
17 You have a mixture of dry salt crystals,
sawdust, steel ball bearings, bean bag balls,
iron filings, lead pellets and glass marbles. A
method of separation is shown below.
Identify the components of the mixture
labelled 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5.

MAGNET FLOTATION GLASS MARBLES

5 MM SIEVE 1 2

ELECTRO– LEAD PELLETS

MAGNET FLOTATION
STATICS

3 4 5

Extension experiments
Aim: To perform chromatography with food dyes
This is an experiment you can do at home or
school. Carefully lick the dye, and wipe the dye
The colours of many foods are made of synthetic from the lolly onto the paper. You can eat the
dyes. The dyes are water-soluble and can be lollies when you have finished! Water is the
separated by chromatography. The best to use are solvent to use, or water with a small amount of
Smarties, M&Ms, Beanies, and similar chocolate salt added to it.
lollies that are coated in bright colours. Find and record which food colours are used to
make the outside colour of these lollies. Record
your results in a table in your notebook.

Aim: To find out which colours magnesium oxide

adsorbs
In Activity 7.7 you adsorbed red food dye onto
grains of magnesium oxide. Magnesium oxide
adsorbs only some of the colours in food dyes; it
does not adsorb the other colours. We say that the
colours are selectively adsorbed. Which colours
does magnesium oxide adsorb?
Chromatography of coloured chocolate lollies Put five drops of red, green and blue food dye
in 200 mL of water into six beakers as shown.
 SEPARATING MIXTURES 159

4 Separating glass marbles and ping pong balls is

fairly simple. But imagine that, in a factory, you
have to separate 2000 glass marbles from 2000
ping pong balls every hour. You have to invent a
machine or device that will do the separation
Selective adsorption for you. Using your knowledge of separations,
describe four methods of separation.
Add a teaspoon of magnesium oxide to one
beaker of red dye, one beaker of green dye and
Scoop ping pong balls
one beaker of blue dye. Leave the other three Tip in balls from top of water, glass
beakers for comparison. Warm and stir the marbles from bottom of tank
solutions, and then filter them separately. At the
end of the experiment, what colour is the
magnesium oxide? What colour is the filtrate?
Find and record which dyes are adsorbed by the
magnesium oxide? Try other food colourings if you
have time. Record your results in a table.
Thinking questions
1 Some information is given below about three
substances. Suggest a way to separate a mixture
of these three substances.
sand insoluble insoluble in
in water methylated spirits Separating glass marbles and ping pong balls
iodine insoluble soluble in
in water methylated spirits Research question
salt soluble insoluble in You and your friends are going on a holiday to an
in water methylated spirits old gold-mining area. The locals say that there is
still lots of gold to be found in the creeks. How
2 Some information is given below about three
would you look for the gold? What equipment
substances. Suggest one way to obtain three
would you need? What methods would you need to
pure samples of each of these substances from a
practise? (You cannot use a metal detector!)
mixture of all three.
salt no change soluble in water Word check
when heated absorption electrostatic impurity
sand no change insoluble in activated filtrate magnetism
when heated water adsorption filtration sedimentation
centrifuge flotation sieve
ammonium sublimes when soluble in water chromatography fractional solubility
chloride heated decant distillation solution
3 Propose how to separate these substances, dye froth flotation suspension
based on their solubility.
Concept map
Substance Soluble in water Soluble in
methylated spirits
Draw a concept map which shows methods of
separations and reasons for them.
Iodine no yes
Salt yes no
Sand no no