Question

Differentiate between:
Supernatant liquid and filtrate.

Answer 1

Hint: Supernatant liquid and filtrate both are the liquid obtained from the separation techniques used for separating the mixture which contains insoluble solid and water or any other solvent.

Complete step by step answer:
When the insoluble solid is added in the liquid, the solid moves down to the bottom of the container and settles down due to its heavier weight than the liquid. The technique is known as sedimentation. This process results in the formation of two layers in the container, one of solid and one of liquid. The liquid thus floating above the solid is clear and can be easily separated by pouring the liquid into another container. This liquid is known as supernatant liquid. In this process, there is no use of filter paper.

When the insoluble solid is added in the liquid, some solid particles move down to the bottom of the container and some minute undissolved solid particles keep on moving within the container. There solid particles can be separated from the liquid by the process of filtration. In this process, a conical flask is assembled to collect the liquid with the filter paper. When the mixture is poured in the filter paper, the liquid passes to the filter paper and gets collected in the flask and the solid particles remain above the filter paper. Thus, the liquid obtained is known as filtrate.

Note: In the sedimentation process, the solid which settles down in the bottom of the container is known as precipitate. In the filtration process, the mixture of undissolved solid and liquid is an example of suspension.