Deciphering Mixture Components Through Separation Techniques

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Analysis/Conclusion Based on our observations during the separation techniques and some speculation, we were able to identify eight components of our mixture: graphite from the filtration residue, Epsom salt from crystallization, water and acetic acid through distillation, red and orange dye, iron metal, marble chips, and sand. To start with, the first separation technique we performed on the heterogeneous mixture was filtration. According to our observations of the residue, we believed graphite was one of the substances in the mixture. Graphite, a known ingredient used in pencils, is black or dark grey in color, like the dark spots on the filter paper (Figure 1B), and has the ability to leave marks on paper and other objects. Of the potential components given to us, only graphite possessed the ability to make a mark on other surfaces. This was supported by the smudges left behind on our finger and filter paper (Figure 1A, bottom filter paper) when we touched the residue. Afterwards, we conducted crystallization to evaporate the liquid in an attempt to detect the presence of a salt. Before stating which of the potential …show more content…

By comparing the texture of each, we can immediately eliminated baking powder, chemically known as NaHCO3, because it had a finer texture and lacked the crystalline structure evident in Figure 2B. The remaining suspects would then be table salt or NaCl in Figure 2D or Epsom salt in Figure 2E. In continuing to compare crystal structures, table salt had a blocky, cubic crystal structure; whereas Epsom salt contained more irregularly shaped particles, most of which appeared to be pentagons. Figure 2B showed that the crystal structure of the salt was in no way cubic or regularly-shaped, eliminating it from the list of possible constituents. That would leave behind Epsom salt as the identity of the salt from

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