Why separate
In science, to get pure substances.
Separating
In daily life we separate things, for example to keep the part we need and throw the rest.
Why do scientists separate a mixture?
What this lesson covers
The idea
In everyday life a mixture is separated to obtain the component of interest, but in science the purpose of separating a mixture is to obtain pure substances.
Separating
In daily life we separate things, for example to keep the part we need and throw the rest.
Why do scientists separate a mixture?
- To get pure substances
- To get the part we like and throw the rest
- To make it look nice
Two purposes
Open both tabs.
Aim of separating
The purpose of separation is different in everyday life and in science.
In everyday life a mixture is separated to get the component of interest. In science it is separated to obtain pure substances.
- Purpose
- Everyday life | Get the component of interest
- Science | Obtain pure substances
Notes
In science, separating a mixture is done to get pure substances.
Check yourself
In science, we separate a mixture to …
In everyday life, separation is done to get …
In everyday separation, what happens to the other components?
Which statement is about science?
- obtain pure substances — correct. Yes!
- keep only the tastiest part. That is the everyday purpose.
- make a bigger mixture. Scientists separate to get pure substances.
- only pure substances. That is the purpose in science.
- the component of interest — correct. Yes!
- nothing at all. We want the component we need.
- They are all kept pure. In everyday life they are usually discarded.
- They turn into the wanted one. They are simply discarded.
- They are discarded — correct. Yes!
- Separation is done to obtain pure substances — correct. Yes!
- Separation is done to get the part we want. That is the everyday purpose.
- Separation is never done. Separation is done to get pure substances.