Elements, Compounds, Mixtures & Separation Techniques

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering the fundamental concepts of chemistry regarding the classification of matter and laboratory separation techniques as described in the provided notes.

Element

A substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical methods.

Compound

A pure substance that contains two or more different elements chemically combined, in a fixed ratio.

Mixture

A substance consisting of two or more substances that are physically combined and not chemically joined.

Atom

The smallest unit of an element that has the properties of that element.

Molecule

A group of two or more atoms that are chemically combined together.

Soluble

A substance that is capable of being dissolved in a solvent.

Filtrate

The substance that is able to pass through the filter paper during filtration.

Residue

The substance that is unable to pass through the filter paper during filtration.

Solute

The substance that is being dissolved in a solution.

Solvent

The substance that dissolves other substances to form a solution.

Alloy

Mixtures of a metal and other substance(s), such as steel, bronze, or brass.

Solution

A mixture containing a solute dissolved in a solvent where particles are evenly spread out.

Pure Substance

A single substance that is not contaminated by others and has a fixed melting and boiling point.

Filtration

A technique used to separate an insoluble solid from a liquid based on particle size.

Evaporation to Dryness

A method used to obtain a dissolved solid that is thermally stable from its solution by heating until all liquid evaporates.

Crystallisation

A method to obtain a dissolved solid that decomposes on strong heating by cooling a saturated solution.

Saturated Solution

A solution that contains the maximum amount of dissolved solute at a specific temperature.

Magnetic Separation

A technique used to separate magnetic materials like cobalt, iron, and nickel from a mixture.

Sublimation

The process where a substance changes directly from the solid state to the gaseous state upon heating.

Chromatography

A process that separates substances in a mixture based on their different solubilities in a specific solvent.

Solvent Front

The furthest point reached by the solvent on a chromatography paper.

Rf Value

The ratio of the distance travelled by the solute to the distance travelled by the solvent, calculated as $\frac{\text{distance travelled by solute}}{\text{distance travelled by solvent}}$.

Simple Distillation

A method used to obtain a pure solvent from a solution based on significant differences in boiling points.

Separating Funnel

A piece of laboratory equipment used to separate immiscible liquids based on their densities.

Fractional Distillation

A technique used to separate miscible liquids with boiling points that are close together using a fractionating column.