Why separate?
A man swirls a pan of wet river sand. Every few turns, he tips a little off the edge. Why?
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Step 1 of 4
- Rice and stones sit mixed in a bowl.
- Fingers pick out each stone.
- Stones go into one pile — removed.
- Rice stays clean in the other pile — kept.
The rule
The man tips away sand to keep the tiny bits of gold.
A mixture is two or more different things mixed together.
We separate a mixture for two reasons:
- To keep what we want. The man wants the tiny bits of gold.
- To remove what we do not want. A cook wants clean rice, not stones.
Often both are true at once.