Which method would be the best for separating the salts from seawater?

• A. Distillation
• B. Chromatography
• C. Filtration
• D. Floatation

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the composition of seawater: it is a homogeneous mixture of water and dissolved salts.
2. Recognize that filtration and floatation are methods used to separate mixtures based on particle size or density differences, which are ineffective for dissolved salts.
3. Chromatography is typically used to separate components of a mixture based on their movement through a medium, but it is not practical for large-scale salt-water separation.
4. Distillation separates components based on differences in boiling points; since water boils at a lower temperature than salts, heating seawater will vaporize the water, leaving salts behind.
5. Therefore, distillation is the best method to separate salts from seawater by evaporating the water and then condensing the vapor to obtain pure water.