7A.3 (Thought Experiment)

Separating Plastic and Metal Beads

Imagine (sorry, no photos this time!) you have a mixture of plastic and solid metal beads of the same size in a container. How would you separate such a mixture? Here’s the challenge: You cannot pick them apart.

Hint: What do you think would happen if you added water to the container?

Hint: What do you think would happen if you brought a magnet near the mixture?

Based on this thought experiment and the previous two (Separating Marbles and Separating Coins), can you think of a general “rule” that you could use to tell someone how to separate ANY mixture? What is your “rule”?