Joyce has a mixture of oil and powdered sugar. The tiny pieces of sugar do not mix evenly with the oil and they do not settle to the bottom. They stay in the oil making it look cloudy. Joyce adds water to the container, closes the lid, and shakes it. After she lets it settle, the sugar is no longer in the oil. The oil forms a layer that floats on top of the water and looks clear. How did she separate the powdered sugar from the oil?

Question

Chemistry

Aylin Middleton

16 January, 15:35

Joyce has a mixture of oil and powdered sugar. The tiny pieces of sugar do not mix evenly with the oil and they do not settle to the bottom. They stay in the oil making it look cloudy. Joyce adds water to the container, closes the lid, and shakes it. After she lets it settle, the sugar is no longer in the oil. The oil forms a layer that floats on top of the water and looks clear. How did she separate the powdered sugar from the oil?

+1

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Devan Weiss · Answer 1

Sugar is not soluble in Oil so it coagulated when Joyce added sugar to oil. But sugar is soluble in water so when Joyce added water in the mixture of OIl and Sugar and then shaked it the sugar dissolved in the water. Leaving no traces behind. As Oil is hydrophobic it doesn't mix with water instead it floats on top. So by using the solubility of sugar in water Joyce separated sugar from oil