Handpicking: Meaning, Examples, Advantages and Disadvantages

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Collegedunia Team

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Handpicking is considered to be a method of separation of components from the mixture with the help of hands. It is a traditional method of separation and is often used since it is very simple. However there are various mixtures present which cannot be separated by bare hands and various other methods of separation are used. For example stones and insects can be separated by handpicking methods.

Keyterms: Handpicking, Mixing, Handpicking, Mangoes, guavas, separation method, sand, salt

Read Also: Column Chromatography


Handpicking Meaning

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As the name implies, "hand-picking" is a technique for separating substances by picking them up with one's hands. You may have noticed that you come into circumstances in your daily life where you must separate the two items. Mangoes and guavas in a basket, sifting stones from grains, and so on. So now we'll speak about "hand picking," the most basic approach for separating substances.

Hand Picking Separation Method
Hand Picking Separation Method

Handpicking is an ancient separation method that we now employ in our daily lives. As it is a fairly basic separating procedure. If we gave you a bucket full of mangoes and apples and asked you to separate them, how would you do it? So, which separation method are you going to use? Simply begin by selecting one type of fruit, such as mango or an apple. You will be able to distinguish one from the other in this manner. Handpicking is the separating technique you're employing here. Many heterogeneous mixes with big enough particle sizes are separated using the hand picking separation method. Some heterogeneous combinations, such as sand and salt, cannot be separated using this procedure. We dissolve the mixture in water and then filter it to separate the sand and salt. As a result, salt dissolves in water, leaving sand as a residue. As a result, we may say that handpicking is used to separate somewhat larger contaminants from wheat, rice, and pulses, such as dirt, stones, and husk. It can also be used for mixes that are different in color, shape, or weight.


Examples of Handpicking Separation Method

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The handpicking separation process is demonstrated in the following cases —

  • To separate the chili and lady's finger combination. (based on the size of the object)
  • To remove stones from rice, legumes, and wheat grains. (based on color and size) handpicking is preferable. 
  • To distinguish between rotting and fresh potatoes. (based on appearance, color, and odor)
  • Handpicking helps to separate distinct types of veggies from the basket's mixed vegetables. (based on shape, color, and size)
  • To separate the yellow dal and rice combination. (as a result of color)
  • Taking the decaying veggies out of the basket of vegetables.
  • Taking the stones and insects out of the rice.
  • Green and black grapes are separated.
  • Distinguishing red gram from rice

Advantage of Hand-picking Method

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Below are some advantages mentioned of handpicking

  • For the separation of chemicals, this method does not require any particular machinery.
  • It is a very simplistic separation procedure.
  • When applied for a little quantity, it takes less time.
  • It does not require any preparation.

Read Also: Azeotropic Distillation


Disadvantage of Handpicking Method

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  • For large quantities of materials, handpicking is not practicable.
  • Only when substances are visibly different is it possible.

Points To Remember

  • Handpicking method is used for a small quantity of material.
  • Chemicals can not be separated by this method.
  • Handpicking is a time-consuming process and the margin of error is large.
  • No machinery is needed in this process.
  • Handpicking does not require any further preparations.
  • The handpicking method can be used for a limited number of substances.

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Sample Questions

Ques 1. What is the process of handpicking? (1 mark)

Ans. Handpicking is a method of manually separating slightly larger particles from a mixture. Handpicking, for example, can separate stone fragments from wheat or rice.

Ques 2. What is handpicking where it is used? (1 mark)

Ans. Handpicking is a separation technique that involves manually removing undesired impurities from a mixture. It basically entails choosing out substances and separating them from others by hand. When things differ in color, shape, or weight, the handpicking approach might be applied.

Ques 3. What is handpicking? (1 mark)

Ans. Handpicking is a separation technique that involves manually removing undesired impurities from a mixture. It basically entails choosing out substances and separating them from others by hand. When things differ in color, shape, or weight, the handpicking approach might be applied.

Ques 4. What type of material can be separated by using handpicking? (1 mark)

Ans. Handpicking is a method of separating undesired substances from a mixture by hand in order to obtain an acceptable substance. This is one of the many different dry separation processes available.

Ques 5. Which mixture can not be separated by handpicking? (1 mark)

Ans. Because components in the hand-picking method must be large enough to be recognized and selected out by hand, sand and sawdust particles are too small to be picked by hand. Filtration can be used to separate it.

Ques 6. What is the importance of handpicking? (1 mark)

Ans. Handpicking is a great way to get rid of pests, especially if just a few plants are afflicted. It is the simplest and most direct method of eliminating visible and slow-moving pests.

Ques 7. What is an example of threshing? (1 mark)

Ans. Pebbles, broken grains, and insects are hand-picked from rice, wheat, and pulses. Threshing is used to separate the seeds from the harvested stalks.

Ques 8. What is sedimentation? (1 mark)

Ans. Sedimentation is the process of heavier particles in a liquid mixture sinking down. In a mixture of sand and water, for example, sand settles to the bottom. This is the process of sedimentation.

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CBSE X Related Questions

1.
Explain the following terms with one example each. 
(a) Corrosion 
(b) Rancidity

      2.
      Light enters from air to glass having refractive index 1.50. What is the speed of light in the glass? The speed of light in vacuum is 3 × 108 m s−1.

          3.

          A milkman adds a very small amount of baking soda to fresh milk.
          (a) Why does he shift the pH of the fresh milk from 6 to slightly alkaline?
          (b) Why does this milk take a long time to set as curd?

              4.
              Write the balanced chemical equations for the following reactions. 
              (a) Calcium hydroxide + Carbon dioxide \(→\) Calcium carbonate + Water 
              (b) Zinc + Silver nitrate \(→\) Zinc nitrate + Silver 
              (c) Aluminium + Copper chloride \(→\) Aluminium chloride + Copper 
              (d) Barium chloride + Potassium sulphate \(→\) Barium sulphate + Potassium chloride

                  5.
                  Show how you would connect three resistors, each of resistance 6 Ω, so that the combination has a resistance of 
                  1. 9 Ω
                  2. 4 Ω

                      6.
                      Oil and fat containing food items are flushed with nitrogen. Why?

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