Hellafunt
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stupid beginner mistake
i was using the name ellafuntay, but for some reason i cant log in now. so, now i am hellafunt.
anyway, the other night i was using a separatory funnel and i was excited to see my creation split into 2 phases like it was supposed to. so, what
did i do? i threw away the wrong phase! ouch, so stupid! surely i cant be the first person to do this?
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Chemosynthesis
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I generally try to keep beakers around to retain fractions when doing a liquid-liquid extraction. This helps when consolidating and assists in
preventing that kind of mistake.
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DraconicAcid
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I had a student do something like that once. She was supposed to extract with dichloromethane, but wasn't paying attention and used saturated sodium
chloride solution (hey, they both contain the syllable "chlor", right?).
Please remember: "Filtrate" is not a verb.
Write up your lab reports the way your instructor wants them, not the way your ex-instructor wants them.
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Little_Ghost_again
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Ermmmm NO, I have never done this...............I cant believe there is a mistake I havnt made yet!! Although to be fair most of the things I make
that are meant to separate dont, so its not normally an issue
Dont ask me, I only know enough to be dangerous
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Hellafunt
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In the bakery we say ,"the expert is the one who has made all the mistakes."
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forgottenpassword
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I've tipped my hard-won product into a separating funnel with the stopcock open, before. It's a mistake you only make once! 
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aga
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Short answer: Yes !
It is a great idea to have plenty of spare beakers, and keep everything until you are sure that it ll went OK.
Personally i use a marker pen on the beakers so i (hope i) know what is in there.
It washes off glass easily.
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Little_Ghost_again
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I hate to argue with you but........................ Your wrong......very wrong. so far 3 times  , and I have also used a
ring one size too big and the funnel wet right through and smashed on the floor. I like to think I am just getting my mistakes out the way early in my
career so later it will all be smooth and plain sailing.
Now I am going to go feed the fairies mums says lives at the bottom of the garden lol
Dont ask me, I only know enough to be dangerous
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forgottenpassword
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Well, fair enough. Maybe you should try working with a starting material that costs several hundred pounds a gram?! Monetary loss (especially when met
by yourself) is often an incredibly strong motivation to check the tap! People are generally clumsy at your age, though - no offence! - it's the
growth spurts that mess up your co-ordination. Actually, that doesn't explain forgetting to check the tap! Not at all!
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