3.

2 Separating Mechanical
Mixtures
LINKING TO LITERACY People work with mixtures every day, even though they may not
know it. Here are three examples. What does each one have to do with
Concept Map
Concept maps are used to
mixtures?
note and visualize details or • Kalia likes lettuce, onions, and red peppers in her salad, but she does
ideas that are related. Create not like tomatoes. Kalia always picks the tomatoes out of her salad
a concept map for this section. before she eats it.
Start by writing the word
• One of Ali’s chores is to sort the laundry before washing. He
“Mixtures” in the centre of your
page. On one side of “Mixtures,” separates the laundry into a pile of light colours and a pile of dark
write the word “Types.” On colours.
the other side of “Mixtures,” • Jen boils pasta in water for lunch. Once the pasta is cooked, Jen
write “Separation methods.” pours it through a colander to separate the pasta from the water
Draw arrows between the (Figure 1).
concepts. Now, read through
the text to locate the different
types of mixtures and different
separation methods.

Figure 1 A colander separates a mechanical mixture of solid pasta and liquid water.

Kalia, Ali, and Jen are all separating mechanical mixtures. Think of
the last time you separated a mechanical mixture. Maybe you took the
mushrooms off of a slice of pizza before eating it. Perhaps you took
the loonies and toonies out of a mixture of coins and put them in a jar.
What kind of mixture did you separate? How did you do it?

Sorting
The simplest way of separating mechanical mixtures is by sorting.
Sorting is used when the two (or more) types of matter are in fairly
sorting: physically separating large large pieces. Sorting simply involves looking at the various parts and
pieces of a mechanical mixture so physically moving one or more of the parts into a different container.
that similar pieces are together
The parts of many mechanical mixtures, however, are in pieces that
are too small to separate by sorting. For these mixtures, you have to
look at other ways of separating the parts. This often involves finding a
way in which the parts of the mixture are different from each other.

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 Floating and Settling
Some parts of a mechanical mixture may float or sink in water. If
one part of a mixture is floating, you can skim it off the top using a floating: a separation technique in
spoon or a scoop. If one part of a mixture sinks (settles) in water, you which a “lighter” component rises
to the top of a liquid where it can be
can pour the water off, and then collect the part at the bottom. This
skimmed or poured off
method is called settling. Sand and cocoa powder both settle in water.
settling: a separation technique in
A mechanical mixture might include two or more different liquids,
which a “heavier” component sinks to
one of which floats on top of the other. In this case, the floating layer the bottom of a liquid, and the liquid
could be carefully skimmed or poured off, just as melted chicken fat is can be poured off
skimmed off a pot of hot chicken soup (Figure 2).
During the Gold Rush era, thousands of miners headed to Western
Canada to search for gold. Many of them used the technique of
settling to separate gold dust from rock dust. A miner would grind up
rocks, or just pick up gravel and sand from riverbeds, and swirl the
solids around in a pan full of water. Gold dust is heavier than rock
dust. If there were any gold dust mixed with the rock dust, the gold
dust would sink to the bottom faster than the rock dust. The swirling
water would then wash the rock dust away. Figure 2 The melted fat can be
skimmed off the rest of the soup
The technique of settling is used on a huge scale to treat water waste
because the fat floats on top of the
(sewage) in wastewater treatment facilities. You will learn more about broth.
this process in Section 3.4.

Complex Mixtures
Some mixtures are complex. This means that they
are mechanical mixtures that include solutions.
Blood, for example, is a complex mixture. Blood
contains a solution of water with dissolved
nutrients (called plasma) and red blood cells.
However, the blood cells are very small and can
only be seen with a microscope.
Medical laboratories commonly separate the
components of blood. If a blood sample is taken
from a patient and left for several hours, the blood
cells gradually sink to the bottom of the container
(Figure 3). This leaves the clear, yellowish plasma
solution at the top. The solution can then be
poured off, separate from the blood cells.
This ability to separate blood into its different
components has important applications. People
who require blood transfusions may need only
one component of blood and not the others. For
example, a patient may need a transfusion of only
red blood cells, or only the plasma component of
blood due to their particular illness or injury. Figure 3 The test tube on the right shows how blood separates.

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 The settling process can be sped up by the use of a centrifuge
(Figure 4). A centrifuge is a piece of equipment that holds test tubes
containing mixtures to be separated. The centrifuge spins the test
tubes around very quickly to make the heavier components sink
rapidly to the bottom of the tubes. Centrifuges are used in many labs
to separate mechanical mixtures.

Using a Magnet
Some metals and alloys, such as iron and steel, are attracted to
magnets. Other metals (for example, silver and aluminum) and
Figure 4 Many medical and
most non-metals (for example, plastic and glass) are not attracted
veterinary labs have centrifuges.
to magnets. If only one part of a mechanical mixture is attracted to
magnets, a magnet can be used to separate that part from the rest of
the mixture (Figure 5).

Figure 5 This magnet separates

scrap metal so that it can be recycled
and reused.

Using Sieves and Filters

Sometimes, different parts of a mechanical contain pieces of different
sizes. For example, the material extracted from a gravel pit includes
both sand and gravel. The gravel company can get a better price for
the gravel if they can first remove the sand. A sieve can separate
sieve: a device used to separate the
mixtures like this. A sieve is a device with many visible holes in it
components a mixture, with many
visible holes that allow smaller solid that can be used to separate the components of a mixture. The smaller
pieces and liquids to pass through pieces in the mixture fall through the holes, while the bigger pieces
while blocking the larger solid pieces stay on top.
sieving: the process of passing a This method—known as sieving—also works when a mechanical
mechanical mixture through a sieve mixture has solid and liquid parts. The liquid parts, and perhaps some
to separate out the larger pieces of smaller solid pieces, pass through the holes, but the sieve traps the
matter
larger solid pieces. An example of a household sieve is a colander.
filter: a device with many small holes A filter is a device, with many small holes or channels, that can be
that trap solid pieces of a mixture
but allow liquids and gases to pass
used to separate a mixture. Filtration is similar to sieving but it is
through used to remove tiny pieces of solids from a liquid or a gas. The holes
filtration: the process of passing a
through a filter are usually too small to see, so any solid pieces become
mechanical mixture through a filter to trapped and cannot pass through.
separate out solid pieces from a liquid
or gas

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 Household filters include air filters (in furnaces and air
conditioners) and coffee filters. Figure 6 shows an air filter from a
furnace. As air is drawn into the furnace, it first passes through the
filter. The filter traps dust and other small pieces of solids in the air.
This helps the furnace work better. Air filters are also used in air
circulation systems to clean the air in homes, offices, and hospitals.

Dissolving Soluble Components Figure 6 An air filter removes small

pieces of solids from the air.
If one part of a mechanical mixture dissolves easily in a solvent, you
can separate this part from the rest of the mixture using a technique
called dissolving. For example, suppose you had a mixture of salt dissolving: mixing completely with a
and sand, and you wanted to separate out the sand. You could mix solvent to form a solution
the mechanical mixture with water. The salt would dissolve in the
water, and the sand would settle to the bottom of the container. After
a short period of time, you could pour the salt-and-water solution off
the sand. Alternatively, you could stir the whole mixture and pour it To learn more about
separating mechanical
through a filter. The filter would trap the sand, but allow the solution mixtures,
(containing the dissolved salt) to run through. Go to Nelson Science

TRY THIS: Separate a Mixture by Dissolving

SKILLS MENU: planning, performing, observing, analyzing, evaluating

Some kinds of matter dissolve in water. Other kinds do not. You 3. Fold the filter paper into a cone. Put it in the top of an
can use this property to separate a mixture of salt and pepper. empty cup.
Equipment and Materials: apron; 2 clear plastic cups; spoon; 4. Stir the mixture. Pour it slowly through the filter. Use more
1 large spoonful of salt; 1 large spoonful of pepper; warm water; water to rinse out any mixture sticking to the cup.
filter paper (coffee filter) A. Does the pepper dissolve in the water? How can you tell?
1. Put on your apron. Mix the salt and pepper together in B. What part(s) pass through the filter? What part does the
a cup. Examine the mixture. Think about how you could filter catch?
separate this mixture.
C. Suggest what you could do next to separate the parts of the
2. Add warm water to the salt-and-pepper mixture. Stir for salt-and-water solution.
30 seconds. Record your observations.

Unit Task How will you use what you have learned about separating mechanical
mixtures when you start to work on the Unit Task?

CHECK YOUR LEARNING

1. What are four methods of separating a mechanical mixture? 3. Some air purification systems include filters. How do air filters
2. Describe one way to separate each of the following make the air healthier for people to breathe?
mechanical mixtures: 4. What is the difference between a filter and a sieve?
(a) metals in a scrap yard (c) sand and gravel
(b) salt and sand (d) sand and water

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