These worksheets are free forever. Want lessons that adapt to your child as they learn, plus progress tracking? Try Ignition Learning free.

Ignition Learning — Activity Sheet

Mixtures & solutions

Science · Year 7

Name: ______________________Date: ____________

A mixture is made when two or more substances are combined but not chemically joined — each substance keeps its own properties and can usually be separated again. A solution is a special type of mixture where one substance (the solute) dissolves completely into another (the solvent), like salt dissolving in water, so you can no longer see the separate parts.

Example

Mixing sand and water makes a mixture — the sand settles and can be filtered out. Dissolving sugar in water makes a solution — the sugar disappears into the water and can't be filtered out, though it's still there (you can taste it, or evaporate the water to get the sugar back).

Key terms

Mixture:: Two or more substances combined without chemically joining.
Solution:: A mixture where one substance dissolves completely into another.
Solute / solvent:: The substance that dissolves (solute) into the substance doing the dissolving (solvent).

Questions

1. A mixture is:
- Two or more substances combined
- Always a solid
- Always invisible
- A chemical reaction only
2. Sugar dissolving in water makes a:
- Solid
- Solution
- Gas
- Nothing happens
3. In a solution, the substance that dissolves is called the:
- Solvent
- Solute
- Mixture
- Compound
4. In a solution, the substance doing the dissolving is called the:
- Solvent
- Solute
- Compound
- Element
5. Sand and water mixed together forms a:
- Solution
- Mixture (not fully dissolved)
- New chemical
- Gas
6. A solution is a special type of:
- Element
- Mixture
- Gas only
- Rock
7. Once sugar dissolves in water, can you see it separately?
- Yes, always
- No, it seems to disappear
- Only at night
- Only if frozen
8. You can separate sand from water by:
- Filtering
- Waiting for it to disappear
- Adding more sand
- It cannot be separated
9. To get dissolved salt back out of salty water, you could:
- Evaporate the water, leaving the salt behind
- Filter it with paper
- Freeze it and pick out the salt crystals by hand
- It is impossible
10. Stirring or heating a solution usually makes the solute dissolve:
- Faster
- Slower
- Not at all
- Only in cold water
11. Oil and water mixed together:
- Form a true solution
- Do not mix well and separate again
- Turn into a solid
- Explode
12. A mixture, unlike a chemical reaction, can usually be:
- Separated back into its original parts
- Never separated
- Only made once
- Turned into a new element
13. Adding too much sugar to water so that some sugar settles at the bottom means the solution is:
- Saturated
- Empty
- A pure substance
- A new element
14. Fizzy drinks are a solution of:
- Carbon dioxide gas dissolved in liquid
- Only sugar and no gas
- Pure water
- Sand and water
15. Why does sugar dissolve faster in hot tea than in cold water?
- Heat makes particles move faster, helping them mix
- Hot liquid has no particles
- Sugar melts at low temperatures
- It does not dissolve faster
16. Salt water is a solution because the salt:
- Sinks and stays separate
- Dissolves completely and evenly through the water
- Turns into a gas
- Floats on top
17. A mixture of iron filings and sand could best be separated using:
- A magnet, since iron is magnetic and sand is not
- Evaporation
- Boiling
- Filtering only
18. Why is muddy river water considered a mixture rather than a solution?
- The mud particles do not fully dissolve and can be filtered out
- Water cannot form mixtures
- Mud is a gas
- It is actually a pure substance
19. If you keep adding sugar to a cup of water until no more will dissolve, the extra sugar that settles shows the solution has become:
- Saturated
- A pure element
- A gas
- Frozen
20. Which of these is the best example of a solution rather than a simple mixture?
- Salt fully dissolved in water
- Sand and pebbles in a jar
- Chopped fruit salad
- Marbles in a bag
21. Distillation, which separates a liquid mixture by boiling and re-condensing it, works because different substances have different:
- Boiling points
- Colours
- Weights only
- Smells only

Answer key (parent copy)

1. Two or more substances combined
2. Solution
3. Solute
4. Solvent
5. Mixture (not fully dissolved)
6. Mixture
7. No, it seems to disappear
8. Filtering
9. Evaporate the water, leaving the salt behind
10. Faster
11. Do not mix well and separate again
12. Separated back into its original parts
13. Saturated
14. Carbon dioxide gas dissolved in liquid
15. Heat makes particles move faster, helping them mix
16. Dissolves completely and evenly through the water
17. A magnet, since iron is magnetic and sand is not
18. The mud particles do not fully dissolve and can be filtered out
19. Saturated
20. Salt fully dissolved in water
21. Boiling points