Mixture Separation Lab

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SEPARATION OF A MIXTURE OF SUBSTANCES LAB Purpose: Every chemical has a set of defined physical properties, and when combined they present a unique fingerprint for that chemical. When chemicals are present in a mixture, these unique physical properties can be utilized to separate the chemicals into their pure states. This experiment will give you experience in separating the components in a three-compound mixture; ammonium chloride, sodium chloride (table salt), and silicon dioxide (sand). Background: Because there are 3 components in our mixture, we will need several techniques to separate them. For this particular exercise, you should be familiar with the following: • Sublimation: Many chemicals will sublime (phase change from solid state to gas state) provided the right conditions. Iodine, for example, sublimes at room temperature. A bottle of iodine will thus always have crystals forming around inside the bottle around the cap where sublimed iodine is being deposited (phase change from gas state back to solid state). Provided the proper equipment, chemicals that are being sublimed can be recovered. Decant(ing): Decanting is a way of separating a solid from a liquid. We can carefully pour a liquid from a solid, provided the solid is quite dense and resides on the bottom of a container. The easiest way to accomplish this is to hold a glass stir rod against the lip of the container containing the solid and liquid, and gently pour the liquid down the stir rod into a new container. Extraction: Extraction is a way to separate two components with different solubilities, that is, extract one chemical from another. Extraction relies on a principle called serial dilution. Imagine a mixture of small plastic beads and sugar. They can’t be separated easily as solids unless you want to physically pick through the particles with a pair of tweezers. However, sugar will dissolve

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