CLASS:VI

NOTES
Separation of Substances
On a day-to-day basis, we are faced with various instances when we are required to separate
substances from one another. Whether it is picking out chillies from our paranthas/poha or
separating tea leaves from tea while serving it, the need for separation of substances is
something we encounter on a daily basis. It is usually because of one or all three of the
following reasons:
 To separate two dissimilar but useful elements like in the case of butter and milk.
Milk is churned in order to obtain butter.
 To segregate useless elements from the useful ones like in the case of separating tea
leaves from tea.
 To remove and discard impurities or potentially harmful substances like picking out
small pieces of stones and other impurities from rice and wheat.
Figure 1 Separating tea leaves from tea
Problems arise when the materials to be separated are really small in size or differ in their
composition. It is nearly impossible to separate grains of salt from grains of sand by hand or
trying to separate oil from water. We might need to use methods other than simple
handpicking even though for a lot of separation processes, even handpicking might be
enough.
Methods of Separation

Figure 2 Methods of Separation

 Handpicking: The simple process of separating slightly bigger sized harmful
substances or other useful substances or impurities like small pieces of stones, husk
and dirt from grains of wheat, pulses and rice is called handpicking. In situations
when the quantity of such impurities is not very large, handpicking turns out to be a
time-saving and convenient procedure of separating substances.
Figure 3 A group of individuals separating two types of grains
 Threshing: After the crop is harvested, stalks are left to dry under the sun. A single
stalk has some 100 pieces of grain seeds joined to it. It is manually impossible to
pluck each grain seed which is very small in size from the stalk and hence
handpicking as a method of separation does not work here. That is why we use a
method called threshing to separate these grain seeds.
 Thus, Threshing can be defined as the process of separating the edible part i.e.
grain seeds from the stalk by either with the help of machines, bullocks or
sometimes by beating them.

Figure 4 a) Threshing by hand b) Threshing by machine

 Winnowing: Even when threshing is done, husk or chaff is still attached to the grain
seed and since the size of the two is quite similar, handpicking does not work and
neither does threshing. Hence, a method called winnowing can be used.
 Winnowing can be defined as the method of separating lighter husk particles
and heavier grain seed components by blowing a current of air through them.
The lighter husk particles are carried away by the wind and the grain seeds get
separated. This husk can be further used as fodder for the cattle.
Figure 5 Process of winnowing
 Sieving: Sometimes even after the grain seeds have passed through the stages of
threshing and winnowing, husk may still be attached to the grain or it may have
collected stones and dirt in the earlier stages which need to be removed and this
separation is usually done with the help of a sieve.
 Sieving is a very simple, convenient and time-saving process through which
particles of varying sizes can be separated from each other with the help of a
sieve. A sieve is nothing but a simple device with small pores in it which allow
finer materials like flour to pass through leaving behind any impurities it
might contain.

Figure 6 Sieving
  Sedimentation, Decantation and Filtration
 Sedimentation: Sedimentation can be defined as the process through which
dirt and other heavier particles in a mixture settle at the bottom of the vessel
when water is added to it. When the dust and dirt particles have settled, the
clear water which forms the upper layer is moved to a different container and
the dirt and dust is done away with. This technique can also be used to
separate two liquids which do not mix with each other (also called immiscible
liquids) and is called decantation.
 Decantation: Decantation can be defined as a technique through which
immiscible liquids or a liquid and a solid substance are separated. For
example, take the case of oil and water. These are two examples of immiscible
liquids. Once we pour oil in water, oil forms the upper layer of water and can
be easily separated by gently pouring the mixture in another container till all
the oil has been removed. Sometimes smaller dirt particles get carried along
with the water in the process of decantation which needs to be further
removed. This can be achieved through the process of filtration.
 Filtration: Filtration is the process through which smaller particles like dirt
etc. are separated from a solution by making the solution pass through a
medium (often a filter paper). This medium is such that only liquids are able to
pass through it because of the presence of very tiny pores in it. The filter paper
is molded to form a cone and this cone-like structure is then affixed to a funnel
through which the dirty solution is allowed to pass. Sometimes, filtration can
also be applied to separate pulp and seeds from the juice. It can also be used to
separate cottage cheese or paneer from milk.

Figure 7 Sedimentation, Decantation and Filtration

 Evaporation: Evaporation is the process of converting liquid into gas or vapour by
increasing the temperature or pressure of the liquid. This process is often used to
separate salt from salt water or salty sea water. Sea water has a number of salts
present in it. Shallow pits called evaporation ponds are constructed and salt water is
 allowed to stand in these. After some time, the water gets evaporated, leaving behind
the salts. Common salt is separated from this mixture upon further purification.

Figure 8 Salt Evaporation Ponds

Use of more than one method of separation
Often, we are faced with mixtures and solutions that cannot be separated by use of a single
separation technique. A number of such techniques need to be applied simultaneously to
achieve the desired result.
Take for example the case of a salt and sand mixture. We know handpicking will not work
and considering both of them weigh just about the same, neither will winnowing.
And hence we try to separate the two with the help of filtration or decantation.
We take a beaker and add water to the said mixture of salt and sand. While the salt dissolves
in water, the sand deposits at the bottom of the beaker and can be separated from the salt
solution with the help of a filter paper or by gently pouring the salt solution in another
container. We now have to separate the salt from water, for which we will simultaneously use
the methods of evaporation and condensation. While heating the solution in a kettle, we
observe that vapour or steam starts to rise from the spout of the kettle. What we then do is
allow this steam to come in contact with a metal plate which has some ice on it. When this
happens, the steam gets converted to small drops of water which we transfer to another
container and thus successfully manage to separate salt which gets left behind in the kettle
and the water which we collect in a separate container.
Condensation is the defined as the simple process of converting gas or vapour to its liquid
form by decreasing the temperature or pressure exerted on it. This is what we did when we
allowed the steam to come in contact with the cold metal plate

Figure 9 Use of more than one method of separation

Can Water Dissolve Any Amount of a Substance?
Even though water can dissolve a number of substances and solutions in it, it has a limit to
how much it can dissolve. After a certain point, it stops dissolving any more of that substance
and the substance collects at the bottom of the vessel. We say that the solution has become
saturated.
A saturated solution is one that contains the maximum possible concentration of a particular
solute. For example, if we continue to add increasing amounts of salt to a small quantity of
water, there will come a point that the salt will not get mixed with the water and instead
deposit at the bottom. At this point, we say that the solution has become saturated i.e. it is
now incapable of dissolving any more of the given solute which is in this case, salt.
A salute is defined as a very small element in a solution that is dissolved in a solution.
One way of ensuring that the given amount of water takes more salt even after it has reached
its saturation point is by heating the said water. This is because heating the solution helps to
increase the solubility of salt or any solute and hence more amount of the same solute can
now be dissolved in the same amount of water.
Some Important Definitions
Churning: The process of shaking milk or cream in order to allow lighter particles to come
to the surface in order to make butter is called churning.
Pure Substance: This can be defined as a substance composed of only a single type of
particle.
Impure Substance: A substance composed of more than one type of particles.
Sublimation: When a solid directly gets converted into vapour, this process is known as
sublimation.
Magnetic Separation: This is another method of separation which allows metals (and other
articles which are attracted to a magnet) to be separated from a mixture with the help of a
magnetic or by applying a magnetic force to it. For example, a mixture of salt and iron filings
can be separated with the help of a magnet.