Separation of styrofoam beads and calcium carbonate
Answers
Separation of Sand, Iron, and Salt
The components of a mixture are separated based on their physical properties.
Equipment
flask for combining the components in water
magnet
fliter flask, funnel and filter paper
hot plate
evaporating dish
Reagents
sand
iron filings
sodium chloride
water
Presentation
The three components are shown in their pure states, then combined into the water to form a heterogeneous mixture. The salt dissolves, the other solids do not.
Using the fact that the iron is magnetic, the magnet can be used to separate the iron fillings from the mixture by moving teh magnet around in the container. Keeping the magnet in a plastic bag makes it easy to separate the filings from the magnet when you pull it out.
The sand can then be separated by passing the remaining mixture through the filter paper.
The salt can be separated from the supernatant by pouring some into the evaporating dish on a hot plate and evaporating the water.
Details
The underlying message of the demo is that the physical properties of the components of a mixture can be used to separate them from the mixture. This is a simple but important concept that we use in many chemical analysis and synthesis techniques.