Separation/Purification, Qualitative, and Quantitative Labs
There are three key types of labs in chemistry: separation/purification labs, qualitative labs (labs that identify what a substance is), and quantitative labs (labs that answer how much of it do we have).
Filtering
One of the ways to separate substances is to sort it by partial size. That is what you are doing when you use a filter. Here are some photos of our labs where we used filtering to separate substances. Click on the thumbnail or hover over the large image until you see play.
How to Fold a Lab Filter
A common tool used to filter in the high school lab is the paper filter. You use these in combination with a funnel to give it support. You will need to fold the filter in half, and then in half again and then open up one side to form a 'pocket' for the substance that is being filtered to flow into and through.