Intro to Chemistry: Separation of Substances!

Separation of Substances!
Did you know that aspirin, also known as acetylsalicylic acid, was initially derived from the bark of White Willow trees?Once it was known that the bark could help cure aliments like headaches, scientists used various techniques to isolate the active ingredient in the bark so that it’s chemical structure could be determined.  This has allowed scientists to mass produce aspirin into the form we see on the shelves at pharmacies today!  As you can see, the separation of components in a mixture is very important in many fields of science. When scientists need to study one particular component of a mixture, various separation methods are used. These methods take advantage of the differences in the physical properties of the substances to be separated.

After reviewing the differences between chemical elements, compounds, and mixtures, we discussed some common reasons and methods for separating out the components of a mixture. Students were then given a mixture of sand, rice, and iron filings and worked in teams to design and implement a multi-step purification process for this mixture, taking advantage of the different physical properties of each component to recover as much as possible. Various tools were provided, including many household items such as colanders, sieves, coffee filters, magnets, and utensils. Students used magnets to separate the iron fillings from the mixture and sieves were the most popular item used to separate rice and sand.

Check out this video we watched in class today for some additional information on elements, compounds, and the periodic table!

Music Video – Meet the Elements (3:15) – file://localhost/They Might Be Giants https/::www.youtube.com:watch%3Fv=Uy0m7jnyv6U

 

Separación de Sustancias

Poder separar los componentes que constituyen una “mezcla” es un proceso muy importante para distintas disciplinas de la ciencia. Cuando los científicos necesitan estudiar un componente particular de una mezcla, pueden ocupar diversos métodos de “separación”. Estos métodos, generalmente utilizan las propiedades físico-químicas de las sustancias. En esta clase, repasamos las diferencias entre los elementos químicos, compuestos y mezclas; también discutimos sobre  las razones y métodos más comunes para separar los componentes de una mezcla.

A los estudiantes se les entregó una “mezcla” que contenía arena, arroz y hierro. Se agruparon en equipos para diseñar e implementar un proceso de varios pasos de purificación de esta mezcla. Tomando en cuenta las diferentes propiedades de cada uno de los componentes, la meta era recuperar la mayor cantidad de cada uno de los componentes. Además, se les entregó varias herramientas para poder trabajar, incluyendo variados artículos para el hogar como coladores, tamices, filtros de café, imanes y utensilios de cocina. Los imanes fueron utilizados por todos los grupos para separar el hierro de la mezcla, y los coladores fueron el utensilio más popular para separar la arena y el arroz.

Información adicional en el siguiente link:

Video musical: “Conoce los Elementos” (3:15) por They Might Be Giants

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uy0m7jnyv6U

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