Separating Mixtures

Test tubes full of mixtures sat on the counter for a couple of days until it was time to empty them. Rather than just dumping the contents we wanted to return each material back to its location, apart from the sugar and salt.

We discussed how to do this and Daisy’s suggestion was always a spoon. I provided a colander, a couple of sieves and some coffee filters. “Oh, I get it!” was the response.

She started with the gravel and used a colander.

The materials had settled beautifully and we discussed why this happens. Daisy came to the conclusion that the sand was heavier and the big bits of dirt were too.

Daisy starts with her idea of using a spoon and soon realizes it is difficult to get the sand out of the bottom of the test tube.

A coffee filter and sieve do the job.

Drip, drip, drip.

Apparently soil and water is pretty!

Fingers alone rescue a feather.

The salt and sugar mixtures are on plates to see what happens.

“Yeah, I can put it back in my sandbox.”

The materials will be put back in their homes when they are dry.

4 Replies to “Separating Mixtures”

  1. I used to teach a FOSS science kit, pebbles, sand and silt and you show some of the same thinking in this post without knowing it. Excellent hands on science exploration! Carolyn

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