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Decantation Sand is insoluble in water. When you allow a mixture of sand and water to stand, the sand will start to settle at the bottom of the container. After all the sand has settled, you can carefully pour water out into another container with the help of a glass rod, leaving the settled solid…

As discussed in the primary states of matter post, matter can be classified into solids, liquids, and gases. In nature, matter exists often as mixtures in various combinations. The flow chart below represents the various categories of mixtures. Over the years, scientists have attempted to separate the components of various mixtures to obtain pure substances,…

The world would really be boring if each substance existed on its own. Fortunately, substances combine to form mixtures. This implies that mixtures are everywhere around us: Mixtures can be categorized into two main categories with a few exceptions: homogenous and heterogeneous mixtures.    Homogenous Mixtures These are mixtures whose constituents are mixed uniformly or…

Some of the substances we come across in our daily lives are pure while others are impure. In science, pure means not mixed with anything else. Each pure substance has distinct properties (such as boiling point, melting point, density, etc) that distinguish it from other pure substances. For instance, all samples of pure water regardless…

A solvent is a substance, typically a liquid, which can dissolve other substances, called solutes, to form a homogeneous mixture known as a solution. Solvents are capable of breaking down the chemical bonds between solute particles, allowing them to disperse and become evenly distributed throughout the solvent. When you add ethanol to water, they mix…

A solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of two or more substances that are evenly distributed at the molecular level.  When a solution is a homogenous mixture of two components, it is composed of a solute and solvent. The component of the solution that dissolves the other component in it (i.e. the one that’s most…

Miscible Liquids When you add ethanol to water, they mix completely to form a uniform mixture. In fact, Ethanol and water mixes completely irrespective of their proportions. We can say that ethanol dissolves in water to form a solution. Liquids like water and water that mix completely are said to be miscible. So: EXAMPLES OF…

Key Takeaways: In the laboratory, precise measurement and transfer of liquids are essential for accurate experimental results. Two common tools for this purpose are the burette and the pipette. While you can use both to measure accurate volumes of liquids, they offer unique advantages as far as precision levels are concerned. So, which apparatus is…

In modern laboratories, two commonly used types of boiling flasks are flat-bottomed and round-bottomed flasks. Round-bottomed flasks feature spherical bottoms, while flat-bottomed flasks have flat bottoms. Both are typically made from borosilicate glass, due to its resilience against high thermal and chemical pressures. Both flasks also have tubular neck sections with openings at the tip…

Funnels are important pieces of apparatus in any chemistry laboratory and serve many purposes ranging from filtration and decantation to precise liquid transfers. As a chemist, understanding the different types of funnels and their applications is crucial for efficient and accurate experimental procedures. Here are the most common types of funnels you will find in…