UQ: How do humans use models to make predictions?

SNC1DMYP: Chemistry

Separation of Mixtures
Name of
Process

Hand separation

Description of Process

Sort by hand (or tool)

Time consuming
Best used with a small sample of large components
Skimming:
o Scooping a solid that has formed a layer on
the surface of a liquid

Heterogeneous mixture solids

Eg. Separating large and small
paper clips
Skimming:
Eg. Pool scum, skin on milk after
boiling, chalk on water

Separation Funnel:
o Separate liquids that are not soluble in one
another. The denser liquid passes through
the funnel first and is collected in a
separate beaker from the upper liquid(s).
See diagram

Separate a magnetic substance from a nonmagnetic one

Best with dry samples

Cover the magnet with paper to make removing the

magnetic material easier

Filter paper placed in a funnel.

Liquids/dissolved particles (filtrate) pass through

Undissolved particles (residue) remain on filter

paper
See diagram

Evaporation:
o Liquid removed from a solution by changing
into gas
o Fast method: gentle heating
o Slow method: left out to dry up

Separation Funnel:
Heterogeneous mixture liquids
Eg. Water and oil

Skimming or
Separation funnel

Magnetic
separation

Filtration

Evaporation/
crystallization

Dissolving

What types of mixtures

is the process is most
useful for separating?

Crystallization:
o When a solution evaporates, not enough
liquid remains to dissolve the solute. The
solution is considered super-saturated and
crystals start to appear.
Used in combination with other methods
Separate one substance that dissolves in a
particular solvent from one that does not

Heterogeneous mixture
Eg. Separating iron and steel
from waste in recycling plants

Heterogeneous mixture
Solution + undissolved particles
Eg. Removing pulp and seeds from
freshly squeezed orange juice
Evaporation/Crystallization:
Solution
Eg. Salt (crystal) and Water
(gas/vapour)

Heterogeneous mixture solids

Eg. Sand and salt salt dissolves
in water, sand does not

Both are based on phase changes (boiling,

condensing)
Distillation (simple and
fractional)

Simple:
o Gently boil the mixture
o The liquid will vaporize
o Vapour travels into the condensing
tube
o The tube is surrounded by running
water which cools the vapour and allows
it to condense back into liquid and be
collected on the other side
See Diagram

Simple:
Liquid and solid
Eg. Water and sand

Fractional:
o Gently boil the mixture using a
fractionating column between the
round bottom flask and condensing
tube.
o The liquid with the lower boiling point
(most volatile) will vaporize first
o Separation occurs in the fractionating
column (any molecules from the less
volatile liquid that turn to vapour will
condense before reaching the
condensing tube and return to the
mixture, making the separation more
accurate)
o The more volatile liquid condenses in
the condensing tube and can be
collected on the other side
o Each component that is separated out
using this method is called a fraction
See Diagram

Fractional:
ONLY Liquids that are miscible
(dissolve in one another) and have
different boiling points
Eg. Water and alcohol, crude oil


Chromatography
(paper and column)

Paper:
o

Spot pigment mixture onto paper

alongside samples of known pigments
o Dip the paper in solvent
o Solvent will travel up the paper by
absorption
o Pigments that are attracted to the
solvent molecules with travel with the
solvent and separate out from those
that are not.
o By aligning the unknown pigments with
the known samples you can identify the
components in the mixture
See Diagram

Paper:
Pigment Solutions
Eg. Dyes
Column:
Solutions or other liquid
mixtures
Eg. Protein mixtures

Column:
o A column is prepared with stationary
chemicals
o The mixture has components with
different affinities (attraction) to the
chemicals in the column
o Components that are attracted to the
column chemicals move slower than
those that are not. (think: you move
slower through the hallway when you
keep meeting your friends, than when
you dont know anyone)
See Diagram

Separate using a centrifuge instrument that

spins at high speeds and can contain test tubes
with small amounts of a mixture

High speeds cause forces that push mixture

down the tube

Components separate according to density

Pellet: denser components on the bottom (solid)

Supernatant: less dense components on the top

(liquid)

Pour out the supernatant to separate it from

the pellet
See Diagram

Centrifugation

Colloids/Suspensions
Eg. Blood, milk
(washing machines and salad
spinners use the same principle)

Separation Funnel
1. The mixture is put in the separating funnel with the stopper on and the tap closed
layers left to settle out. 2. The stopper is removed, and the tap is opened so that you
carefully run the lower grey layer off first into a beaker. 3. This leaves behind the
yellow layer liquid, so separating the two liquids.

Filtration

Simple Distillation

Centrifugation

Fractional Distillation

and the
can
upper

Column Chromatography

Paper Chromatogrphy