Name:
Date:
Period:
Designing a Lab: Mixture Separation
Objectives
 Design a step-by-step procedure for separating a mixture
 Calculate the % composition of the mixture
 Observe chemical and physical properties
 Relate chemical and physical properties to the task of separating mixtures
 Analyze the success of methods for purifying the mixture
Background
The ability to separate and recover pure substances from mixtures is extremely important
in scientific research and industry. Chemists need to work with pure substances, but naturally
occurring substances are rarely pure. Often, differences in the chemical and physical properties
of the components in a mixture provide the means for separating them. In this experiment, you
will have an opportunity to design, develop, and implement your own procedure for separating a
mixture. The mixture you will work with contains the dry granular form of:
Mixture Substances:
Familiarize yourself with lab equipment & mixture components
You may only use the laboratory equipment and materials available in our classroom.
1) List lab equipment you may need in your
mixture separation.
2) For each mixture component, list
its properties that may be useful in
separating it from the other components.
Name:
Date:
Period:
Design a procedure:
 Make a plan for what you will do to separate the mixture. Remember that each
component must be measurable in some way in order to calculate the percent
composition of the mixture.
 Keep in mind lab safety, lab equipment, and detailed instructions, including how to
determine the percent composition of the mixture.
 The plan should be written in a numbered list.
 When your plan is complete, review it with the teacher for approval.
Calculate the percent composition of the mixture.
List the percentages of each component in the mixture below.
Calculate a percent error for each component.
See the teacher for your mixture components to determine a percent error.
Complete a lab write-up.
Each member of the group must contribute to the laboratory report as one report per group will
be turned in. Thus all members of the group will receive the same grade.

Lab Report must include
o Detailed list of materials/equipment used & the purpose of each
o Final procedure in a numbered list
o Data table showing lab data collected, percent composition of mixture, and
percent error for each mixture component.
o Conclusion paragraph answering the following questions:
 How did you decide on the order of your procedural steps? Would any
order have worked?
 If you could do the lab over again, what would you do differently? Be
specific.
 Name a tool or material that wasn’t available that might have made your
separation easier.
 On a scale of 1 to 10, how successful were you in separating and
recovering each component? Justify your rating based on your
observations.