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Class 6 Science — Methods of separation

Name the everyday methods for pulling a mixture apart, and pick the right one for a given mixture.

Name: ________________________

Before you start

The stages of clearing a pan of tea, and where the leaves end up at each one.

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  1. 1. Sedimentation — the leaves settle at the bottom
  2. 2. Decantation — the tea is poured off the settled leaves
  3. 3. Filtration — the strainer catches the leaves still floating

Three stages, and each one leaves the tea a little cleaner. Decantation on its own still lets a few leaves through, which is why the strainer comes last.

  1. 1.Sort each method by what it pulls apart.

    Groups: A solid from another solid · A solid from a liquid

    • Filtration
    • Winnowing
    • Sedimentation
    • Handpicking
    • Sieving
    • Evaporation
    • Magnetic separation

  2. 2.Stalks are beaten so the grains come free of them. What is that process called?

  3. 3.Flour is shaken through a fine mesh to hold back the coarse bits. Which method is that?

    • a) Filtration
    • b) Threshing
    • c) Handpicking
    • d) Sieving

  4. 4.Sand has been stirred into water but has not dissolved. Which method separates it out?

    • a) Churning
    • b) Evaporation
    • c) Threshing
    • d) Filtration

  5. 5.A farmer drops a mixture of grain and husk from a height on a windy day. Which method is being used?

    • a) Winnowing
    • b) Sedimentation
    • c) Sieving
    • d) Filtration

  6. 6.Pieces are picked out of a mixture by hand because they differ in size, colour or shape. What is that method called?

  7. 7.After decanting the tea, a few leaves still come through into the cup. What does the chapter do next?

    • a) Decant it a second time
    • b) Accept that the tea cannot be cleared
    • c) Pour it through a strainer, which is filtration
    • d) Boil it until the leaves dissolve

  8. 8.Match each method of separation to what is done in it.

    • Winnowing
    • Sieving
    • Decantation
    • Magnetic separation
    • Threshing
    • blowing air to carry the lighter husk away
    • tilting the vessel to pour the liquid off the settled solid
    • beating stalks to free the grains
    • using a magnet to draw the magnetic pieces out
    • passing a mixture through a sieve to separate by particle size

Answer key — Class 6 Science — Methods of separation

  1. 1. Handpicking → A solid from another solid; Winnowing → A solid from another solid; Sieving → A solid from another solid; Magnetic separation → A solid from another solid; Filtration → A solid from a liquid; Sedimentation → A solid from a liquid; Evaporation → A solid from a liquid
  2. 2. threshing
  3. 3. d) Sieving
  4. 4. d) Filtration
  5. 5. a) Winnowing
  6. 6.
    • handpicking
    • hand picking
  7. 7. c) Pour it through a strainer, which is filtration
  8. 8. Winnowing → blowing air to carry the lighter husk away; Sieving → passing a mixture through a sieve to separate by particle size; Decantation → tilting the vessel to pour the liquid off the settled solid; Magnetic separation → using a magnet to draw the magnetic pieces out; Threshing → beating stalks to free the grains