Natural Science Unit 4. Matter.

part II (Separating Mixtures)

Year 6
 5 methods to separate the individuals in
homogeneous mixtures:

Magnetic
Decantation Filtration
separation

Evaporation Distillation
1. Magnetic separation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anaCLlmBSzg

Magnetic separation
is ideal for separating
mixtures of two solids
with one having
magnetic properties.
Some metals like iron,
nickel and cobalt have
magnetic properties ;
gold, silver and
aluminium do not.
Why? Because
magnetic elements are
attracted to a magnet.
 2. Decantation

Decanting is just allowing a mixture

of solid and liquid or two liquids that dont mix
together to settle and separate by gravity.
Once the mixture components have separated, the
lighter liquid is poured off leaving the heavier liquid or
solid behind. A small amount of the lighter liquid is left
behind.
Oil and water - oil floats on top of water. Decanting the mixture allows
the oil to be poured off the water.

Dirt and water - muddy water can be cleared up by decanting. The soil
will sink to the bottom of the tube allowing the clear water to be
poured off.
 3. Filtration
We use this method for separating solids from liquids.

If a substance does not dissolve in a solvent, we say that it is insoluble.

For example, sand does not dissolve in water it is insoluble.

When a mixture of sand and water is filtered:

the sand stays behind in the filter paper (it becomes the residue)
the water passes through the filter paper (it becomes the filtrate)
 The slideshow shows how filtration works

2 The mixture
of insoluble
solid and
liquid is
poured into
the filter
funnel.

1
A beaker 3 The liquid particles are
containing a small enough to pass
mixture of insoluble through the filter paper
solid and liquid. as a filtrate. The solid
There is filter paper particles are too large to
in a filter funnel pass through the filter
above another paper and stay behind
beaker. as a residue.
 4. Evaporation

Evaporation is the method used for separating solids from liquids.

Evaporation is used to separate a soluble solid from a liquid.
For example, copper sulphate is soluble in water.

During evaporation, the water evaporates away leaving solid copper

sulphated crystals behind.

A solution is placed in an evaporating basin and heated with a Bunsen burner.

 The volume of the solution has decreased because some of the water
has evaporated. Solid particles begin to form in the basin.
 5. Distillation
The process of heating a liquid mixture to form vapour
and then cooling that vapour to get a liquid is called
simple distillation. Distillation is used to purify a liquid
by separating the components of a liquid mixture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5ep0-ojPGw