How will you separate a mixture of salt, sand, iron filling, ammonium chloride and water? Give the method of separation systematically.
Answers
The Procedure:
Preparing the mixture of ammonium chloride, sand and common salt:
Take a small quantity of a mixture of sand, common salt and ammonium chloride in a china dish.
Separation of Ammonium Chloride:
Real Lab Procedure:
Place the china dish on a wire gauze that is placed over a tripod stand.
Cover the china dish with an inverted glass funnel and plug in a little cotton at the opening of the stem of the funnel.
On heating the mixture in the china dish, white fumes evolve and rise inside the funnel.
Stop heating when the white fumes stop rising and allow the funnel to cool.
After cooling, remove the funnel from the china dish and using a spatula, transfer the solid ammonium chloride sticking on the walls of the funnel into a watch glass.
Inference:
Ammonium chloride sublime and can be separated from the mixture of salt and sand by the process of sublimation.
Separation of sand particles:
Real Lab Procedure:
Transfer the contents of the china dish into a beaker and pour some distilled water into it and stir it well using a glass rod.
Filter the contents of the funnel into another beaker.
Transfer the sand particles left on the filter paper into a watch glass using a spatula.
Inference:
Sand can be separated from the mixture of sand and salt by dissolving salt in water and then by filtration.
Separation of salt:
Real Lab Procedure:
Transfer the filtrate in the beaker into a china dish and strongly heat it.
After some time, the salt is left as a residue in the china dish; transfer it into another watch glass.
Finally label the three components that have been separated from the mixture.
Inference:
Salt can be separated through the process of evaporation.
Simulator Procedure (as performed through the Online Labs)
You can select the mixture from the ‘Select the mixture’ drop down list.
Step 1: Sublimation
You can separate the sublimating substance (Naphthalene / Anthracene / Camphor / Ammonium chloride) from the mixture through the process of sublimation.
To start sublimation, click on the ‘Start Sublimation’ button.
To heat the mixture in the china dish, drag the china dish over the Bunsen burner.
Drag the glass funnel over the china dish and cover it, to collect the fumes of the sublimating substance.
You can go to the next process by clicking on the ‘Next’ button.
Drag the spatula into the finnel to collect the sublimed substance sticking inside it.
Once collected, drag the spatula back to put the substance in the watch glass.
You can click on the inference icon to see the inference.
Step 2: Filtration
You can separate soil / sand from the mixture through the process of filtration.
Drag the china dish towards the beaker containing water to transfer the mixture into it.
Click on the glass rod to stir the contents in the beaker.
To filter the contents in the beaker, drag it towards the funnel.
You can go to the next process by clicking on the ‘Next’ button.
To collect the soil / sand from the funnel, drag the spatula towards it.
Once collected, drag the spatula back to put the substance in the watch glass.
You can click on the inference icon to see the inference.
Step 3: Evaporation
You can separate sugar / salt from the mixture through the process of evaporation.
Drag the beaker towards the china dish to pour the contents of the beaker into the china dish.
Wait for sometime until the water evaporates.
Drag the spatula towards the china dish to collect the sugar / salt from the china dish.
Once collected, drag the spatula back to put the substance in the watch glass.
You can click on the inference icon to see the inference.
Click on the ‘Reset’ button to redo the experiment.
Note: Click on the ‘HELP’ button to see the instructions.
Precautions:
Always heat china dish on a wire gauze.
Plue the opening of the stem of the funnel with cotton while heating substances which sublimate.
Always separate sublimate from the mixture first or before dissolving salt in water.
While filtering a solution drop the contents along a glass rod into the funnel.