Science Common Sense

169 - How do you separate mixtures?

There are several ways to separate mixtures, depending on what's in the mixture. Here are some common methods:

1. Filtration: If you have a mixture of a solid and a liquid (like sand and water), you can use a filter (like a coffee filter) to separate them.
2. Sifting: If you have a mixture of different sized particles (like flour and sand), you can use a sifter or a sieve to separate them.
3. Magnetism: If you have a mixture that contains tiny metal pieces (like iron filings), you can use a magnet to attract them and separate them from the rest of the mixture.
4. Distillation: If you have a mixture of liquids with different boiling points (like water and ethanol), you can use distillation to separate them by boiling and condensing the liquids.
5. Evaporation: If you have a mixture of a liquid and a solid (like seawater), you can use evaporation to separate the solid (like salt) from the liquid (like water).
6. Chromatography: If you have a mixture of different colored substances (like ink), you can use chromatography to separate them by attracting the colors to a surface (like paper).

These are some of the main ways to separate mixtures, depending on what you're working with.