Filtration Lab E. Haniff

Aim:  To separate a mixture of sand and copper sulphate salt (to obtain the solid components)

Apparatus and Materials  Beaker  Bunsen burner, tripod stand and wire gauze  Funnel  Glass stirrer  Evaporating dish  Filter paper  Flask  Water  Sand and copper sulphate mixture

Diagram

Method:  Water was added to the mixture of sand and copper sulphate and the mixture was stirred to dissolve the copper sulphate  Filter paper was placed into a funnel and the mixture was filtered into a flask by pouring the mixture into the funnel  The filtrate (salt solution) was collected and poured into an evaporating basin  The filtrate was then gently heated over a Bunsen burner until a saturated solution remained  The saturated solution was then allowed to cool until a copper sulphate residue was formed  Observations were noted

Observations:  When the water was added to the copper sulphate mixture and stirred, a blue, cloudy solution was obtained  When this was filtered, the sand remained on the filter paper as a RESIDUE  The filtrate was a clear blue solution  After heating in the evaporating dish and cooling, blue copper sulphate crystals were observed in the evaporating basin

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Discussion  The method of filtration is suitable as a separation technique when one component of the mixture is insoluble and the other is soluble. The insoluble component can be filtered out and collected as a RESIDUE, while the soluble component could be collected in the FILTRATE  Heating the filtrate caused the evaporation of excess water from the solution and when a saturated solution is formed and allowed to cool, crystallization of the copper sulphate salt was facilitated

Discussion continued…  When heating the filtrate, it was important to leave some water and not heat the solution until all the water had evaporated because the crystals would not be properly formed and the anhydrous form of copper sulphate would have formed (a white salt instead of the blue hydrated salt that has water around the copper sulphate crystals)  Filtration has many applications in medicine, industry and even in the home

Conclusion:  A mixture of sand and copper sulphate was separated to obtain the solid components by the method of filtration, evaporation and crystallization