Science·Matter & Materials·procedural
Separating Mixtures
Use knowledge of solids, liquids, and gases to decide how mixtures might be separated through filtering, sieving, and evaporating
Suggested ages 9–10
Learning journey
Your child is exploring how materials behave and change — investigating which substances dissolve in water, learning to separate mixtures, and distinguishing between changes that can be reversed and those that create entirely new materials.
Evidence of understanding
- Choose the correct separation method for a given mixture (sieving for large particles, filtering for small, evaporating for dissolved)
- Describe a multi-step separation plan for a complex mixture like sand, salt, and water
- Explain why each method works based on the properties of the materials
Assessment prompt
If Separating Mixtures has a mixture of sand, salt, and water, can they figure out a step-by-step plan to separate all three using a sieve, filter, and evaporation?
Standards alignment
Y5.Sci.PCM.3GB · uk-nc-2013
Separating mixtures
The national curriculum in England: Key stages 1 and 2 framework document · Key Stage 2