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How to Separate a Mixture of Sand & Salt

The separation of mixtures is a fundamental science experiment that is performed in many classrooms around the world to teach students the basics of procedures like filtration, heating, and evaporation. When attempting to separate a mixture of sand and salt, you'll need some standard lab equipment like glass containers, filter paper and a bunsen burner.

Things You'll Need

Test tube
Water
Filter paper
Filter funnel
Crucible or evaporating basin
Tripod
Bunsen burner
Heat lamp or sunlight

Instructions

- 1
  Fill a test tube about half-way with the sand-salt mixture.
- 2
  Pour water into the test tube. Use enough water to completely submerge the sand-salt mixture.
- 3
  Stir or shake the mixture for a few minutes so that the salt dissolves in the water. The sand is insoluble, so it will remain visible.
- 4
  Curl a piece of filter paper into a cone shape and place it in a filter funnel.
- 5
  Pour the mixture through the filter funnel into a crucible or evaporating basin. The filter paper will hold back the sand and only allow the salt solution to pass through it.
- 6
  Place the crucible containing the salt solution on a tripod, and heat the bottom of it with a bunsen burner. After a while, the water will evaporate, leaving only the salt crystals behind.
- 7
  Place the wet filter paper with the sand under a heat lamp or leave it in the sun to dry it out.
- 8
  Scrape the salt crystals out of the crucible. You should now be left with a pile of sand and a pile of salt, having successfully separated the two from the mixture.

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