Separating Mixtures

Question

Method Procedure
Filtration Used to separate an insoluble solid from a liquid.
Simple distillation Used to separate a solvent from a solution
Fractional distillation Used to separate the different liquids from a mixture of liquids.
Crystallization Used to produce solid crystals from a solution.

Your lab group has been given a mixture of sand and water. The task at hand is to separate the sand from the water, producing a container of sand and a second container of water. Maria suggested using the procedure called crystallization, but several other group members thought that filtration would be the best way to separate the two. Provide support for the second separation method, filtration.

Which point is NOT valid?

A Sand is an insoluble solid that does not dissolve in water.Sand is an insoluble solid that does not dissolve in water.
B The two parts of the mixture, sand and water, have different boiling points.The two parts of the mixture, sand and water, have different boiling points.
C Sand particles are large enough to be stopped by a piece of filter paper, separating the sand from the water.Sand particles are large enough to be stopped by a piece of filter paper, separating the sand from the water.
D Although crystallization would separate the sand from the water, it would not provide a method to collect the water.

Answer 1

The point that is NOT valid in support of using filtration to separate sand from water is:

B The two parts of the mixture, sand and water, have different boiling points.

This statement is irrelevant to the method of filtration, as filtration does not rely on boiling points but rather on the size of the particles. Filtration is effective because sand is an insoluble solid that can be physically separated from the liquid water, while their boiling points are not a factor in this specific separation process.