Name:__________________________________Date:______________Period:_________
Your partner’s name:_________________________________
Separating Mixtures Lab
Objective: Students know methods for separating mixtures based on the properties of the components.
Background: You will be given a mixtures of rocks, sand, salt and iron filings. Your job will be to
separate the mixture into each part. Some mixtures can be separated easily – such as a salad. You can just use
a fork to take the salad apart. However some mixtures are difficult to separate. A fork will not help you
remove the salt from this mixture. It’s a challenge, but it’s possible.
Materials: glass beaker, forceps, triple beam balance, hot plate (may be shared between 2 groups), 1
coffee filter, magnet, water in a squirt bottle or pippet, funnel, plastic ziplock bag, graduated cylinder, plastic
beaker to hold the mixture, goggles.
Procedure:
Massing items before separating the mixture: Find the mass of the plastic beaker (empty) & the
beaker with the mixture inside. Determine the mass of the mixture by subtraction. Record in the table below. Find the
mass of a filter paper you will use for the experiment. Record in the table below.
To separate the mixture, you will need to remove the items in the following order:
1. Rocks – use forceps to remove the rocks. Set them aside.
2. Iron filings – use a magnet to remove the iron filings. Set them aside.
3. Salt – Fold a filter paper into a funnel. Place the glass beaker beneath the funnel. Pour
the mixture onto a filter paper. Carefully squirt water onto the mixture to dissolve the salt. The
salt water will go through the filter. Heat the salt water on a hot plate. Boiling it will eventually
evaporate the water, leaving the salt.
4. Sand – Allow the filter paper to dry completely before taking the mass of the filter paper
and sand remaining. (This may need to dry overnight. Put your name on the filter paper so you
can find it the next class period. ) subtract the mass of the filter paper to find the mass of the sand.
Draw a picture of your lab set up with the materials labeled here:
Data: You will need to determine the mass of your mixture BEFORE separation. Also, you will need to determine the
mass of each of the components AFTER separation.
Item
Mass BEFORE Separation
Mass AFTER
Percent of Total Mass
(grams)
Separation (grams)
A
MIXTURE IN BEAKER
g
NONE
NONE
B
MASS OF PLASTIC BEAKER
C
FILTER PAPER
D
MIXTURE
E
SAND
F
SALT
G
ROCKS
H
IRON FILINGS
g
g
g
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
NONE
g
100 %
g
g
g
g
______%
______%
______%
______%
Data Collection:
A couple of hints:
 To determine the mass of the mixture before separation, subtract A from B. (To determine the mass of the mixture AFTER
separation add up the masses of E, F, G & H.)
 To determine the Percent of Total Mass, divide the mass AFTER separation for each item (E, F, G & H) by the mass after
separation of the total mixture. (Outlined in a zigzag pattern.)
 For example, to find the percent of total mass of Iron Filings, I would take the mass of iron filings after separation and divide
it by the total mass of the mixture after separation.
CLEAN UP: Stamp here for a clean lab station.
Yeah, you need this to receive an A on this lab!
Results: Display your results in both bar graphs and pie charts. Be neat. Use color. Title all of the graphs to show your
results and label them accordingly.
Figure 1
Figure 2:
Figure 3
Figure 4
Questions: Answer these questions in complete sentences.
1. Why might your total mass before separation be different than the total mass after separation?
2. Why was it important to wait until the filter paper is completely dry before finding its mass?
3. What are 2 ways we might improve the lab procedure for separating the mixture?
4. List the items in order of increasing percentage of your mixture.