Alex T.

Zhao
Greg Kerr
IB Chem HL
September 7, 12
Separation of mixtures by Filtration and crystallization
Background: The separation of a mixture of two solids can often be
achieved by filtration and crystallization. To be successful this
requires that the components of the mixture have different
solubilities in a particular solvent.
Aim: Purpose of this experiment is to separate a Sodium Chloride
charcoal mixture by filtration, and a Copper (II)/Chloride mixture by
crystallization.
Equipment required:
Balance
Filter funnel stand
Filter funnel
Hotplate
Watch glass
Glass rod
Beakers (two 100mL)
Graduated cylinder (25
mL

IB Chemistry HL Lab 2

Filter paper
Sodium chloride/charcoal
mixture (4g)
Sodium
chloride/copper(II)
chloride mixture (8g)
Ethanol (25mL)
Distilled water
Boiling chip

September 7, 2012

Part A: Separation of a Sodium Chloride and Charcoal

Mixture.
Observations:
Sodium Chloride/charcoal mixture: powder, solid, opaque,
smooth in texture, odorless, slivery grey, traces of white,
crystalline particles (salt)
NaCl
Crystals after
separation: White,
crystalline, solid,
opaque,
odorless, grainy (not
fine),
powdery (to some
extent)

Charcoal: Smooth,
solid,
silvery grey, opaque,
odorless, powdery, fine.

Part B: Partial
Separation of a
Sodium Chloride and Copper (II) Chloride Mixture.
Observations:
Copper (II) Chloride/Sodium Chloride solution: Graining,
solid, opaque, odorless. Copper (II) Chloride is of bluish
green, Sodium Chloride is grainy, whitish crystals.
The solid filtered out is dark green, with small traces of
blue, odorless crystals, solid, opaque.
Filtrate: Clear, transparent, liquid, bluish green
After the solid filtered is washed with ethanol, it turns
lighter in color, and turns from a dark bluish green to
greenish white/milky green color. Other physical properties
retain. This implies that the solid is actually Sodium
Chloride, and not Copper (II) Chloride.

Part C: Separation of a Sodium Chloride and Copper (II)

Chloride Mixture.
Observations:
Appearance of Solid: Crystalline, solid, opaque, dark
greenish, solid, opaque, odorless, grainy
Appearance of filtrate: Clear, transparent, dark bluish
green, odorless.

Processing results, and questions:

1. In part A, the solubility of sodium chloride in water allowed us to
separate it from charcoal. When the mixture of solids was stirred
into the water, the NaCl (salt) dissolved completely while the
charcoal remained undissolved. When the mixture is filtered, the

charcoal is filtered out, while the filtrate is really salt water. Heating
the filtrate then boils of the water, leaving us with salt crystals
2. In part B, we separated out some pure sodium chloride, but the
filtrate contained both sodium chloride and Copper (II) Chloride. By
heating the water in the first place, we are increasing the solubility
of substances in water slowly. The fact that some of the sodium
chloride was filtered out shows that as the water heated up, most of
the copper (II) chloride became dissolved (thus came out in filtrate),
while only some of the Sodium Chloride was dissolved (some came
out in filtrate and some were filtered out.) This implies that the
solubility of Copper (II) Chlorides in water is better than that of
Sodium Chloride.
3. Lastly in part C, using ethanol as a solvent, we were able to
completely separate sodium chloride and copper (II) chloride. This is
because salt barely dissolves in ethanol, while copper (II) chloride
dissolves very well in the ethanol. Hence, the salt is easily filtered
out, while the copper (II) chloride passes through the filter paper as
filtrate while dissolved in ethanol. These facts show that copper (II)
chloride is significantly more soluble in ethanol than in water (in
which case we couldnt completely separate sodium chloride and
copper (II) chloride).