Discovering Mixtures

PURPOSE: What types of mixtures will the solutes and solvents (water,
alcohol and oil) create?
HYPOTHESIS: I think that the results of each mixture will depend on the
materials of the solute and the solvent. For example; alcohol is like vinegar
which is made from acid so it fizzes when you add baking soda.
Solute
A. Sugar
B. Food Colouring
C. Salt
D. Oil
E. Baking Soda
F. Koolaid
G. Polident
H. Mystery Item

H2O
Rm.Temp (1)
SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S
MM/IS
SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S

Hot (2)
SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S
MM/IS
SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S

Alcohol (3)

Oil (4)

SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S
MM/IS
SOL/S
SOL/S

SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S

SOL/S

SOL/S

MATERIALS:
-

400ml of room temp. water

400ml of hot water
350ml of alcohol
300ml of oil
4 tsp of sugar
4 tsp of food colouring
4 tsp of salt
3 tsp of oil
4 tsp of baking soda

- 4 tsp of Koolaid
- 2 polident tablets
- 4 tsp of mystery item
- beaker (2 50ml)
- 1 teaspoon
- 1 stir stick
- kettle
- magnifying glass

SOL/S
SOL/S

METHOD:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Prepare 1 tsp of every solute

Prepare 1 of the materials in a beaker
Pour solute into solvent
Stir for 30 secs in circles (1 Mississippi)
Let the mixture sit for 10 secs
Make observations for qualitative and quantitative (transparent,

translucent, opaque, measurements)

7. Record the results
8. Repeat steps 3-7 for each mixture

Solute
A. Sugar
B. Food Colouring
C. Salt
D. Oil
E. Baking Soda
F. Koolaid
G. Polident
H. Mystery Item

H2O
Rm.Temp (1)
MM/IS
SOL/S
SOL/S
MM/IS
SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S
MM/IS

Hot(2)
SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S
MM/IS
MM/IS
SOL/S
SOL/S
SOL/S

Alcohol (3)

Oil (4)

MM/IS
SOL/S
MM/IS
MM/IS
MM/IS
SOL/S

MM/IS
MM/IS
MM/IS

MM/IS

MM/IS

MM/IS
MM/IS

OBSERVATIONS:
1A: Its a solution because all the particles are evenly mixed and its
translucent and its soluble.
2A: Its a mechanical mixture because there were still some particles at
the top and the middle and its insoluble.
3A: Its a mechanical mixture because most of the sugar particles were
clustered at the bottom and the smell was stronger and its insoluble.
4A: Its a mechanical mixture because the sugar is still in its cube form
and the smell barely changed and its insoluble.

1B: Its a solution because the food colouring completely mixed with the
water and the water turned green and it has no smell and its soluble.
2B: Its a solution because the food colouring also completely mixed with
the water particles, the colour green and its soluble.
3B: Its a solution because the green food colouring was a lighter green
and the colour didnt affect the smell and its soluble.
4B: Its a mechanical mixture because the food colouring mixed with the
oil turning it into a light shade of green and some of the food coloring
formed into blobs at the bottom and its insoluble.
1C: Its a solution because just like the sugar, the salt mixed with the
water and its soluble.
2C: Its a solution because the salt particles have mostly mixed with the
water particles which make it translucent and soluble.
3C: Its a mechanical mixture because the salt was separated into 3
parts. The top is clear, the middle is foggy with salt and the bottom is
where all the leftover salt is. Its also insoluble.
4C: Its a mechanical mixture because the salt was stuck at the bottom
and doesnt want to mix because its insoluble.
1D: Its a mechanical mixture because since oil is lighter than water, it
sits on top of the water and it smells like oil and its also insoluble.
2D: Its a mechanical mixture because there was a thin layer of oil at the
top and some bubbles at the top. The mixture smells like oil and its
insoluble.
3D: Its a mechanical mixture because the alcohol sits at the top and the
oil was in blobs at the bottom because its insoluble and the smell was
extremely strong.
1E: Its a solution because there were little baking soda particles and
made it look transparent and its soluble.

2E: Its a mechanical mixture because the baking soda particles stuck
together in blobs which made it look opaque and its insoluble.
3E: Its a mechanical mixture because the baking soda became little
particles because its insoluble and the smell was extremely strong.
4E: Its a mechanical mixture because the backing soda turned into some
king of goo that was stuck to the bottom and its insoluble.
1F: Its a solution because the Koolaid completely mixed with the water
and it has an orange smell because its soluble.
2F: Its a solution because the Koolaid particles completely mixed with
the water particles but the smell is mostly gone and its soluble.
3F: Its a solution because the Koolaid particles also completely mixed
with the alcohol but the orange colour was lighter and made the smell
very strong and its soluble.
4F: Its a mechanical mixture because the powder was stuck at the
bottom and some of the Koolaid particles stuck to the oil particles and
its insoluble.
1G: Its a solution because the polident was mostly dissolved and its
translucent. It smells like coconut and pineapple and its soluble.
2G: Its a solution because the polident tablet was mixed better than 1G
and it still smells like coconut and pineapple and its soluble.
1H: Its a mechanical mixture because all the powder was at the bottom
and it smells like milk and its insoluble.
2H: Its a solution because the powder mostly mixed with the water and
its translucent, still smells like milk and its soluble.
3H: Its a mechanical mixture because the powder is either sitting at the
bottom or floating in the middle and its smell is extremely strong. Also,
its insoluble.

4H: Its a mechanical mixture because most of the powder settled at the
bottom and some were in the middle. The smell smells like oil and its
insoluble.
CONCLUSION:
1. In my hypothesis, I thought that most of the mixtures would be
solutions but I didnt know that oil was insoluble to a lot of solutes.
Also, I thought that the hot particles from the hot water would make
a lot of things dissolve but sometimes, it didnt. I think that its
because the particles are heated so it would overpower the solutes
and force them to melt.
2. I think that everyone didnt have the same results because too many
variables were changed like when we took turns and switched the
positions (stirrer, organizer) or like when we used the measuring
spoons and beakers, some groups could have added a bit more than
they were supposed to or if they stirred faster or longer. Or, since
some mixtures looked like a mechanical mixture and a solution
combined, people could have recorded different results. Also, since
we left it for a weekend, the results would change even more.
3. I think that we would get the same results if we had more controlled
variables and made it a fair test and just have 1 big group do the
experiment and not switch jobs. During the first trip, we did the
experiment in multiple groups and we switched jobs and each person
did the job differently.
4. To make the experiment fairer, we could have the same person stir
the solvents and solutes. Before the experiment, we could first get a
person to fill the beakers and measuring spoons to almost get the
same measurements. We could have written the same method written
down to not confuse anyone about the steps.
5. This information can be used in jobs like baking or for chemists
because they need to mix different substances to make a new
mixture for a recipe or for a new chemical. It can also relate to how
petrol and food are made from different mixtures and how we use
mixed mixtures to create more mixtures.

6. I enjoyed this activity because it was fun to see what would happen if
I mixed 2 substances together without knowing what would happen
after they were mixed and if the 2 substances would change the
smell and look of the mixtures individually. My group and I were all
interested to see what would happen and the experiment worked
because everyone cooperated.
7. During the experiment, I stayed on task and helped my group make
observations. I helped mix the solutes with the solvents and I
compared my final observations to my first observations to see the
differences. I also helped by telling my group my observations and
listened to what they thought.

RESOURCES:
-ca.answers.yahoo.com
-www.mynelson.com