Separate sand and water in a KS3 filtration virtual lab with a printable worksheet. Pupils fold filter paper, pour the mixture and identify the filtrate.

Why does the sand stay in the filter paper while the water passes through? In this interactive chemistry practical, pupils follow the mixture from the beaker to the funnel and watch the water collect drop by drop in the conical flask. By the end, they can point to the residue and filtrate in their own labelled diagram and explain how filtration separates an insoluble solid from a liquid.

What pupils do

• Stir sand into water with a virtual stirring rod and observe what happens to the grains.
• Fold a circle of filter paper in half, fold it again, then open it into a cone and fit it inside the funnel.
• Pour the mixture slowly and observe where the sand and water end up.
• Identify the sand as the residue and the collected water as the filtrate, then check both answers in the lab.
• Draw and label the apparatus on paper. Explain how the pores in the filter paper allow water through while trapping the larger sand grains.

Where it fits in your scheme of work

Use the lab with White Rose Science for the Year 7 filtration lesson in Separation Techniques. It also supports Exploring Science, including Exploring Science International, and AQA Activate when teaching mixtures, insoluble solids and methods of separation.

How to use it

Project the lab before a hands-on practical so pupils can rehearse the filter-paper fold together. For a whole-class activity, pause just before pouring and ask pupils to predict where the sand will end up. Pupils can then use the printable worksheet to record what they observe and explain whether their prediction was correct.