Ohio Assessment for Educators (OAE) Integrated Science (024) Practice Exam

What process is used to separate a solid from a liquid in a heterogeneous mixture?

1. Filtration

2. Distillation

3. Chromatography

4. Precipitation

The correct answer is: Filtration

The process used to separate a solid from a liquid in a heterogeneous mixture is filtration. During filtration, the mixture is passed through a filter, which allows the liquid to pass through while retaining the solid particles. This technique is effective because it relies on the difference in particle size between the solid and the liquid. The solid remains on the filter paper, while the liquid collects underneath, resulting in a clear separation. Filtration is commonly used in various laboratory and industrial processes where solid impurities need to be removed from liquids, such as in water treatment or in the preparation of chemical solutions. The other options presented, such as distillation and chromatography, serve different purposes and are suitable for different types of separations, while precipitation is a process that involves forming a solid from a solution, but it does not directly separate a solid from a liquid already in a mixture.