Separating Mixtures

These downloadable videos and animations are part of the multimedia package Stuff and Substance, developed by the Gatsby Science Enhancement Programme (SEP). They can be used to develop understanding of filtration, evaporation and distillation as methods to separate various types of mixtures.

Understanding filtering rests on understanding the nature of a suspension and the role of the filter paper. Two videos compare the ability of fine and coarse filter paper to separate powdered chalk from a suspension. Recovering common salt from solution is shown in a time-lapsed video and the particle animation. Another video shows a simple distillation apparatus being used to recover the water from a salt solution and highlights the need for efficient cooling to condense the water. The fact that some air is usually dissolved in water is addressed in a video showing small air bubbles emerging on heating water. A formative assessment task looks at the water cycle in terms of particles.

These video and animation files form part of the resources in the section Separating Mixtures in the Stuff and Substance multimedia package, which provides a series of interactive pages that can be used by teachers or students in the classroom.

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