Very small insoluble particles in a liquid may be separated from it by using
- A.crystallization
- B.fractional distillation
- C.centrifugation
- D.decantation
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, centrifugation. Centrifugation separates very fine insoluble particles that are too small to settle on their own. The mixture is spun at high speed in a centrifuge. The spinning creates a strong outward force, so the denser particles are pushed to the bottom of the tube while the lighter liquid stays above them. This is how cream is separated from milk in dairies, how blood cells are separated from plasma in laboratories and how a washing machine dryer squeezes water out of clothes. Option A is wrong because crystallisation obtains a pure solid that is dissolved in a solution, such as sugar or copper sulphate, not undissolved particles. Option B is wrong because fractional distillation separates two or more miscible liquids whose boiling points are close, such as the gases of air or the fractions of petroleum. Option D is wrong because decantation works only for larger, heavier particles that settle under gravity, after which the clear liquid is poured off. Exam tip: fine suspended particles, centrifugation; settled particles, decantation; dissolved solid, crystallisation.
Practice Questions
View allThe fact that the planets move around the Sun, not in circles but in ellipses, was first demonstrated by
- A.Galileo
- B.Martin Luther
- C.Johannes Kepler
- D.Copernicus
Show answer
In 1609 Kepler showed that the planets move around the Sun in elliptical orbits, with the Sun at one focus of the ellipse.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements is correct?
- A.Urea is produced in liver.
- B.Urea is produced in blood.
- C.Urea is produced from digestion of starch.
- D.Urea is produced in lung and kidney.
Show answer
Liver cells turn the toxic ammonia released from the breakdown of amino acids into urea through the ornithine cycle, also called the urea cycle.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following is the correct sequence of passage of light in a compound microscope?
- A.Condenser-Objective lens-Eyepiece-Body tube
- B.Objective lens-Condenser-Body tube-Eyepiece
- C.Condenser-Objective lens-Body tube-Eyepiece
- D.Eyepiece-Objective lens-Body tube-Mirror
Show answer
Light passes through the condenser to the specimen, is picked up by the objective lens, travels up the body tube and reaches the eye through the eyepiece.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements regarding haemoglobin is correct?
- A.Haemoglobin present in RBC can carry only oxygen but not carbon dioxide.
- B.Haemoglobin of RBC can carry both oxygen and carbon dioxide.
- C.Haemoglobin of RBC can carry only carbon dioxide.
- D.Haemoglobin is only used for blood clotting and not for carrying gases.
Show answer
It binds oxygen at its iron-containing haem groups and carries some carbon dioxide on its protein chains. Each haemoglobin molecule has four polypeptide chains and four haem groups, and each haem iron can hold one oxygen molecule, forming oxyhaemoglobin in the lungs.
Read the full explanation →Which one of the following statements regarding histone proteins is correct?
- A.Histones are proteins that are present in mitochondrial membrane.
- B.Histones are proteins that are present in nucleus in association with DNA.
- C.Histones are proteins associated with lipids in the cytosol.
- D.Histones are proteins associated with carbohydrates in the cytosol.
Show answer
They are the proteins around which DNA winds to form chromatin in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. Histones are small basic proteins, rich in the positively charged amino acids lysine and arginine, which attract the negatively charged phosphate groups of DNA.
Read the full explanation →