Question

Separation of sugar from tea can be done with filtration.
A. True
B. False

Answer 1

Hint: Sugar in tea forms a homogeneous solution, since the sugar molecules are completely soluble in tea solution.
Filtration is generally done to separate out insoluble impurities present in a solution.
So, examining theoretically if it is possible to filtrate and separate homogeneous solutions will tell us if the given statement is true or false.

Complete step by step answer:
As we know, while preparing tea, we add sugar and see that it becomes completely soluble in tea. This is because the sugar molecules are able to fill up the interstitial spaces between the water/milk molecules present in the tea. Thus, sugar in tea is an example for a homogenous solution. A homogenous solution is one in which the concentration of the solute is the same everywhere in the solution. Now let us see how filtration works:
In filtration, the solution is made to pass through a membrane; for example, filter paper. The idea behind filtration is that insoluble solids cannot pass through the membrane and get deposited on it, while the solution along with the soluble particles pass through it.
Therefore, since we know that sugar is completely soluble in tea, we cannot separate it using filtration.

So, the statement is false.

Note: Filtration is the process we use to strain the tea and leave the tea leaves behind, since tea leaves/tea powder is insoluble in tea. To separate out sugar from tea, only complex laboratory type processes like distillation and/or crystallization can be employed. Note that simple physical processes cannot separate the constituents of a homogenous solution.