Mixtures can be separated — Chemistry, 4–6 years
When different materials are together, they may still keep their own size or shape. We can use those differences to separate a mixture without making a new material.
Different pieces can be sorted apart
A mixture is made when different materials are together but have not become one new material. If their pieces differ in size, shape or weight, we can use a sieve, a magnet or our hands to separate them. The method must match the difference we can observe.
Why learn to separate things?
People often find useful materials mixed with things they do not want. The problem is how to recover the useful part without throwing everything away or changing it. Sorting, sieving and using magnets are simple ways to recover materials by making use of differences between their pieces.
Separating rice and paper clips
Imagine a bowl with 20 grains of rice and five steel paper clips. First, hold a magnet above the bowl. The five clips move up and stick to it, while the rice stays behind. Move the magnet over the bowl again to check, then count the five clips. The pieces were separated by their magnetic behaviour.
One tool cannot separate everything
A common mistake is to use a magnet for every mixture because it worked with paper clips. That is a reasonable mistake: the tool was successful in the first example. But a magnet attracts only some materials, not rice, wood or plastic. We must observe the mixture before choosing the tool.
Recycling and making clean water
Sorting helps recycling workers separate paper, metal, glass and plastic. Sieves separate stones from soil, and filters can remove some solid pieces from water. These methods do not make every kind of water safe to drink; cleaning water fully needs special equipment and careful testing.
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