This worksheet challenges the student to consider different aspects of a separation, what equipment will be needed, what steps should be taken and to predict the outcome.
Key stage: KS 2
Curriculum topic: Properties and Changes of Materials
Curriculum subtopic: Separating Mixtures
Difficulty level: 
In this worksheet you're going to take a journey to the seaside with Amy and Sam to investigate seawater, what it's made of and how to separate its various constituents.
Amy and her brother, Sam, were on a school trip to a nearby seashore.
Amy filled her bucket with water from the sea and showed it to Sam: "That's got salt in it, Sam" she said. "Ugh, it's got bits of seaweed in it," Sam observed.
Back at school Sam asked Amy, "How can we get the seaweed out?"
What do you think Amy and Sam should do to separate the seaweed and sand from their seawater?
Here are some pieces of apparatus they had in the classroom:
| Flask |  |
| Microscope |  |
| Bunsen Burner |  |
| Funnel |  |
| Filter Paper |  |
| Thermometer |  |
Select all of the equipment that they will need to separate the seaweed and sand from the seawater.
"There you are, Sam, that's cleaned the seawater," Amy told her brother.
"But how does it work?" asked Sam.
What do you think Amy told Sam to explain how their apparatus removed the bits of seaweed and sand from the seawater?
"Is it safe to drink now?" asked Sam. "Oh no," exclaimed Amy, "it's still full of salt!"
"How can we get the salt out then?" Sam wanted to know. "Oh that's easy!" laughed Amy.
Here's the apparatus Amy set up:
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What happened when Amy heated the seawater gently?
After a few minutes they saw a ring of white crystals appearing above the seawater.
"Look," cried Sam, "is that salt?"
Why was the salt left behind?
Sam looked mournfully at the salt. "I can't drink that!" he cried.
"Oh no, I've done the wrong experiment!" laughed Amy.
Sam wanted Amy to "get the salt out" of the seawater - why is her experiment wrong?
"Never mind, there's lots of seawater left," chuckled Amy, "let's try again."
This time, when Amy heated the seawater gently, she used gloves to carefully hold a cold surface near the steam coming away from the hot seawater.
"Look Sam!" exclaimed Amy, "what do you see collecting on the surface?"
What do you think Sam saw?
"Is that stuff salty?" Sam wanted to know.
Do you think that there's any salt in the steam coming away from the hot seawater?
The substance that Amy and Sam collected on the cold surface was cooled from the steam.
When steam cools and turns back into a liquid we say that the steam has....
Looking at the substance that collected on the cold surface Sam asked Amy "Is it safe to drink now? Is it clean water?"
Do you think Amy should allow Sam to try some?
Amy and her brother, Sam, were on a school trip to a nearby seashore.
Amy filled her bucket with water from the sea and showed it to Sam: "That's got salt in it, Sam" she said. "Ugh, it's got bits of seaweed in it," Sam observed.
Back at school Sam asked Amy, "How can we get the seaweed out?"
What do you think Amy and Sam should do to separate the seaweed and sand from their seawater?
Here are some pieces of apparatus they had in the classroom:
| Flask | |
| Microscope | |
| Bunsen Burner | |
| Funnel | |
| Filter Paper | |
| Thermometer | |
Select all of the equipment that they will need to separate the seaweed and sand from the seawater.
"There you are, Sam, that's cleaned the seawater," Amy told her brother.
"But how does it work?" asked Sam.
What do you think Amy told Sam to explain how their apparatus removed the bits of seaweed and sand from the seawater?
"Is it safe to drink now?" asked Sam. "Oh no," exclaimed Amy, "it's still full of salt!"
"How can we get the salt out then?" Sam wanted to know. "Oh that's easy!" laughed Amy.
Here's the apparatus Amy set up:
What happened when Amy heated the seawater gently?
After a few minutes they saw a ring of white crystals appearing above the seawater.
"Look," cried Sam, "is that salt?"
Why was the salt left behind?
Sam looked mournfully at the salt. "I can't drink that!" he cried.
"Oh no, I've done the wrong experiment!" laughed Amy.
Sam wanted Amy to "get the salt out" of the seawater - why is her experiment wrong?
"Never mind, there's lots of seawater left," chuckled Amy, "let's try again."
This time, when Amy heated the seawater gently, she used gloves to carefully hold a cold surface near the steam coming away from the hot seawater.
"Look Sam!" exclaimed Amy, "what do you see collecting on the surface?"
What do you think Sam saw?
"Is that stuff salty?" Sam wanted to know.
Do you think that there's any salt in the steam coming away from the hot seawater?
The substance that Amy and Sam collected on the cold surface was cooled from the steam.
When steam cools and turns back into a liquid we say that the steam has....
Looking at the substance that collected on the cold surface Sam asked Amy "Is it safe to drink now? Is it clean water?"
Do you think Amy should allow Sam to try some?
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