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Question

Why do we need to separate substances from a mixture? Explain.


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Solution

Mixture - When two or more substances are mixed physically in any variable proportion in such a way that they retain their individual properties is called a mixture.

Reasons for separation of substances from a mixture -

1. To separate useful components from non-useful components: many mixtures contain useful and non-useful components that need to be separated to obtain the useful component. For example -

  1. tea leaves need to be separated from the mixture to consume tea. It can be done by a strainer.
  2. fine wheat flour is necessary to make chapatis, but first it needs to be separated from coarse flour by sieving.

2. To separate toxic and harmful components from a mixture: mixtures like river water contains many toxic dissolved salts that need to be separated from the water to make it potable.

3. To obtain the pure substance from a mixture -

  1. Distilled water(pure water) that is free from all types of dissolved salts and impurities can be obtained from potable water by distillation.
  2. Cream can be separated from milk by the process of centrifugation.

4. To separate desired component from a mixture - the majority of naturally occurring mixtures contain lots of undesired components that need to be separated from the desired component to further process the component.

For example - pure metal is separated from its ore(rocks that contain metals or minerals) by various techniques.


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