Question

A student took a beaker and mixed ink and water in it. Will he be able to separate ink and water using decantation process? Explain it. When can we use decantation?

Answer 1

No, we cannot remove the ink from the water through decantation, since the mixture of ink and water forms a solution.
In the solutions, the particles are evenly mixed around, and will not form sediments.

Decantation can be used for a mixture of two liquids which are not soluble into each other and forms distinct layers or it can be used to separate the components of a solid-liquid mixture in which the solid particles settles at the bottom and the clear liquid above it can be poured into another container.