Cambridge O Level Chemistry · Syllabus 5070 · Experimental Techniques and Chemical Analysis
Filtrate
What is Filtrate?
A liquid or solution that has passed through a filter. In the filtration of a mixture of sand and salt solution, the filtrate is the salt solution collected below the funnel. The material held back on the filter paper has not passed through and is the residue, not the filtrate.
This definition is part of the Experimental Techniques and Chemical Analysis chapter in Cambridge O Level Chemistry.
Common mistakes with Filtrate
- 5. Residue and filtrate Fix The filtrate is the liquid or solution that has passed through the filter. The residue is what remains after a process — and that process may be filtration, evaporation or distillation, not only filtration. Never define residue as “the solid on the filter paper”; that is one example of a residue, not the meaning of the word.
- 22. “Statement 12.1.3 is about collecting and drying gases.” Why it fails Statement 12.1.3 is the six definitions — solvent, solute, solution, saturated solution, residue and filtrate. Gas collection and drying methods are not part of Topic 12 for this cycle. Correct Learn the six definitions for 12.1.3, in the official wording. Check If a revision resource lists upward delivery and drying agents under 12.1.3, it is describing an older specification.
Questions students ask about Filtrate
What is the difference between a residue and a filtrate?
The filtrate is the liquid or solution that has passed through the filter paper. The residue is whatever remains after a process such as filtration, evaporation or distillation — not only the solid caught on filter paper, but also, for example, the salt left in an evaporating basin or the liquid left in a distillation flask. Restricting "residue" to solid on filter paper is the most common definition error in this topic.