Physical separation uses properties such as particle size, magnetic response or solubility without requiring a new substance to form. A coarse sieve and a paper filter work at different scales. Dissolved material can pass through ordinary filter paper with the solvent. This virtual activity compares a few ideal examples rather than designing a real purification process.
Matter and chemistry · Discover & try
How can a mixture be separated without a reaction?
Reading level 3 of 5 · IndependentChange
Word help
mixture
Materials together without a single fixed chemical composition.
filtration
Separating some components using a barrier that permits others to pass.
Watch · Try · Explain
See how it works
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Virtual magnetic and size-based sorting; ordinary filter behaviour is simplified and does not certify safe water.
What to look for
- A tool needs a property difference
- Dissolved material is not suspended sand
- Components are sorted rather than created
Explain what you noticed
Sugar has fully dissolved in water. Will an ordinary paper filter collect the sugar like grains of sand?
Keep this idea: Match a separation mechanism to a useful property difference.
Follow the sources
- University of California San Diego — Separating Mixtures: Teacher Version
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Filtration
Source material checked 2026-10-28. Explanations and activities by Nepedia. Source links do not imply endorsement.
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