This MCQ module is based on: Methods of Separation
Methods of Separation
Chapter 9 at a Glance — What We Learnt
In this chapter, we explored how Indian families, farmers, and even ancient travellers separated things using the properties of the substances around them. Here is everything we covered:
Why separate?
To remove harmful bits, to get the useful part, or to get two useful parts (like water and salt from seawater).
Handpicking
Pick out unwanted pieces by hand when they are few, bigger in size, or different in colour.
Threshing
Beat cut stalks to knock grains loose from the straw — done by hand, by bullocks, or by machine.
Winnowing
Drop a grain-and-chaff mixture from a height in a breeze. Heavy grain falls; light chaff blows away.
Sieving
Pass a powder through holes; small particles fall through, big ones stay on top. Property used: size.
Sedimentation & Decantation
Let heavy solid settle in a liquid, then gently pour out the clear liquid on top.
Filtration
Use cloth or filter paper. The filtrate passes through; the residue is caught on the filter.
Magnetic separation
Use a magnet to pull out iron from a mixture where nothing else is magnetic.
Evaporation
Warm/airy conditions let water escape as vapour; the dissolved solid (like salt) is left behind.
Condensation
Water vapour cools on a cold surface and turns back into liquid water.
Crystallisation
A slow, careful form of evaporation that gives shiny, regular-shaped crystals and pure solids.
Combining methods
Most real mixtures need two or more methods together — pick the right sequence!
Keywords Grid
Quick Reference — Which Method for Which Mixture?
| Mixture | Best method | Property used |
|---|---|---|
| Stones in rice | Handpicking | Size & colour |
| Wheat on the stalk | Threshing | Grain loosens on impact |
| Grain + chaff | Winnowing | Weight |
| Flour + bran | Sieving | Size |
| Muddy water | Sedimentation + decantation | Heavier mud settles |
| Tea leaves in tea | Filtration | Solid bigger than filter holes |
| Iron nails + sand | Magnetic separation | Iron is magnetic |
| Salt + water | Evaporation / Crystallisation | Water evaporates, salt stays |
| Vapour → water | Condensation | Cooling vapour becomes liquid |
Exercises
Try each question on your own first. Then click Show Solution to check.
Q1. Fill in the blanks:
(a) The light papery outer cover of grain is called ______.
(b) In ______, heavy particles settle at the bottom of a liquid when left still.
(c) The clear liquid that passes through a filter is called the ______.
(d) Salt is obtained from sea water by ______.
Q2. State True or False. Correct the false ones.
(a) Handpicking is the best way to remove thousands of tiny husk pieces from a sack of rice.
(b) Iron filings can be separated from sand using a magnet.
(c) Filter paper can separate dissolved salt from water.
(d) Winnowing uses the difference in weight between the parts of a mixture.
Q3. Match the method in Column A with the right example in Column B.
| A — Method | B — Example |
|---|---|
| (i) Threshing | (p) Separating iron nails from sawdust |
| (ii) Filtration | (q) Getting grain out of cut wheat stalks |
| (iii) Magnetic separation | (r) Making copper sulphate crystals |
| (iv) Crystallisation | (s) Straining tea through a strainer |
Q4. Why can we not use a sieve to separate sugar from tea?
Q5. Rani's mother gives her a mixture of sawdust and iron nails. Describe two methods she can use to separate them, step by step.
Method 2 — Water floatation: Tip the mixture into a bowl of water. The sawdust floats on top; the iron nails sink. Skim off the sawdust. Pour out the water and collect the nails.
Q6. Draw a labelled diagram in words: describe the arrangement of a filtration setup with a funnel, filter paper, and a beaker.
Q7. Explain with a real-life example how sedimentation and decantation are used together.
Q8. Sai has a mixture of sand, salt, and iron filings. Write the steps he should follow, in order, to separate all three.
Q9. When hot khichdi is covered with a steel plate, water drops are seen on the plate after a few minutes. Name the two processes at work.
Q10. In salt pans along the Indian coast, sea water slowly turns into solid salt. Which property of water makes this possible?
Q11. Why is crystallisation considered a better method than plain evaporation for obtaining a pure solid?
Q12. Ancient Indian homes often drank water that sat overnight in a clay pot before being boiled. Explain what this daily practice achieved using the ideas from this chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions — Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises
What does the topic 'Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises' cover in Class 6 Science?
The topic 'Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises' is part of NCERT Class 6 Science Chapter 9 — Methods of Separation in Everyday Life. It covers the key ideas of separation methods, mixtures, NCERT exercises, explained through everyday examples, labelled diagrams and hands-on activities from the NCERT Curiosity textbook. Class 6 students learn simple definitions, see why each idea matters in daily life, and try short experiments and observations. The lesson uses easy language, colourful pictures and small questions so that young learners build a strong base for higher classes and for competency-based questions in CBSE school tests.
Why is 'Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises' important for Class 6 NCERT Science?
'Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises' is important because it builds the first ideas of science that Class 6 students will use again in Class 7, 8 and beyond. NCERT Chapter 9 — Methods of Separation in Everyday Life — introduces separation methods and connects it to things children already see at home, at school and in nature. Learning this topic helps students ask better questions, understand simple news about science, and score well in CBSE tests that use competency-based questions. The chapter also supports NEP 2020 by encouraging curiosity, observation and learning by doing rather than only reading and memorising.
What are the key ideas students should remember from Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises?
The key ideas in 'Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises' for Class 6 Science are: separation methods, mixtures, NCERT exercises. Students should be able to say each term in their own words, give one or two easy examples from daily life, and draw a small labelled diagram where needed. A good way to revise is to make flashcards, write a short note in the science notebook, and solve the NCERT in-text and exercise questions of Chapter 9. Linking every idea to something seen at home or school — in the kitchen, garden, playground or sky — makes these ideas easy to remember for unit tests and the annual CBSE examination.
How is Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises taught using activities in NCERT Curiosity Class 6?
NCERT Curiosity Class 6 Science teaches 'Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises' through an inquiry-based approach using Predict–Observe–Explain activities. Students first make a guess, then try a small experiment with safe, easily available materials, and finally explain what happened and why. This matches the NEP 2020 focus on learning by doing. For Chapter 9 — Methods of Separation in Everyday Life — the textbook has hands-on tasks, labelled pictures and thinking questions built for Bloom's Taxonomy Levels 1 to 6. Teachers use these activities, along with competency-based questions (CBQs) and assertion–reason items, to check real understanding instead of only rote learning.
How should Class 6 students prepare for the Chapter 9 exercises?
To prepare for the Chapter 9 — Methods of Separation in Everyday Life — exercises in NCERT Class 6 Science, students should first revise the theory in Parts 1–3 and make a short note of definitions and diagrams for separation methods, mixtures, NCERT exercises. Next, try each exercise question on their own before looking at the solution. Pay special attention to MCQs, match-the-following, fill-in-the-blanks, assertion–reason and short-answer items, as these often appear in CBSE competency-based tests. Practising with the NCERT Curiosity textbook, the exemplar questions, and the MyAiSchool practice bank helps Class 6 students score better in unit tests and the annual examination.
How does 'Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises' connect to other chapters of Class 6 Science?
'Methods of Separation — Chapter 9 Exercises' connects to many other chapters in NCERT Class 6 Science Curiosity. The ideas of separation methods come back when students study related topics like diversity in the living world, food, magnets, measurement, materials, temperature, water, separation, habitats, natural resources and the solar system. For example, what students learn here helps them build mental pictures for later chapters and for Class 7 and Class 8 Science. Teachers often ask cross-chapter questions in CBSE exams to check if students can use what they learned in Chapter 9 — Methods of Separation in Everyday Life — in new situations. This linked approach matches the NEP 2020 and NCF 2023 focus on holistic, competency-based learning.