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Year 5

Separating soluble solids from solutions

I can describe how to separate a soluble solid from a solution.

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New
New
Year 5

Separating soluble solids from solutions

I can describe how to separate a soluble solid from a solution.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A solid that dissolves in a liquid is called soluble. This makes a solution.
  2. Soluble solids can not be recovered using filtering.
  3. Soluble solids can be recovered from a liquid using evaporation.
  4. Evaporation is when a liquid changes to invisible water vapour (gas) in the air.

Keywords

  • Dissolve - If a solid or gas dissolves in a liquid, it mixes so completely with the liquid that it cannot be seen.

  • Soluble - Solids and gases that dissolve in a liquid are soluble.

  • Solution - A solution is a mixture of a liquid with a dissolved solid or gas.

  • Separate - To separate something, you put different parts of it into different groups.

  • Evaporate - To evaporate is to change from a liquid to a gas.

Common misconception

A dissolved solid ceases to be present in the solution it forms – it turns into water. When you pass salt water through a filter paper, the salt is removed.

Children carry out practical activities to discover which methods can and cannot be used to recover salt from a solution.


To help you plan your year 5 science lesson on: Separating soluble solids from solutions, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Encourage children to use the correct vocabulary (dissolve, soluble and solution). For safety, children should not use taste to test for the presence of substances in a science lesson.
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Teacher tip
equipment-required

Equipment

See additional materials: beakers, spoons, filter papers, funnels, salt, sugar or other soluble solids, water, equipment to carry out evaporation.

content-guidance

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - equipment
supervision-level

Supervision

Adult supervision required

copyright

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What method is often used to separate an insoluble solid from a liquid?
An image in a quiz
mixing
Correct answer: filtering
cooling
stirring
dissolving
Q2.
At a temperature below 0°C, water is in a _________ state.
Correct answer: solid
gas
liquid
Q3.
Melting happens when you ...
An image in a quiz
heat a gas.
Correct answer: heat a solid.
heat a liquid.
Q4.
What is the name of the process when a liquid turns into a solid?
melting
condensation
evaporation
Correct answer: freezing
Q5.
What is the name of the process when a gas turns into a liquid?
An image in a quiz
melting
Correct answer: condensation
evaporation
freezing
Q6.
Which of these materials is soluble in water?
flour
Correct answer: salt
sand
Correct answer: sugar
Q1 UYSEG Q3 Cagkan Sayin/Shutterstock.com

6 Questions

Q1.
A solid that dissolves in a liquid is .
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: soluble
Q2.
A solid dissolved in a liquid forms a __________.
An image in a quiz
solvent
soluble
Correct answer: solution
insoluble
Q3.
Which of these methods cannot be used to recover soluble solids from a solution?
evaporation
Correct answer: filtering with a filter paper
Correct answer: sieving
Q4.
Match the type of solid to the method which can be used to recover it from a liquid.
Correct Answer:soluble solids,evaporating
tick

evaporating

Correct Answer:small insoluble solids,filtering
tick

filtering

Correct Answer:large insoluble solids,sieving
tick

sieving

Q5.
Water is evaporating from the clothes on the washing line. Evaporation is when …
An image in a quiz
a solid changes into a gas.
a liquid changes to a solid.
Correct answer: a liquid changes to a gas.
a gas changes to a liquid.
Q6.
When the liquid part of a solution evaporates, what is left behind?
An image in a quiz
Correct answer: the solid that was dissolved in the liquid
a new solid
a gas

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