Final answer:
Chromatography is the lab technique that separates mixture components through differences in particle size, utilizing varying degrees of adsorption and solubility between the stationary and mobile phases.
Step-by-step explanation:
The basic lab technique that involves the separation of a mixture's components through differences in particle size is chromatography. This method depends on the different degrees of adsorption of component particles to a solid phase, as well as their solubility in a liquid phase. In chromatography, a mixture is passed through a medium (stationary phase), and components of the mixture are separated based on how quickly they move along with the mobile phase.
Another separation technique, filtration, is used to separate solids from fluids by allowing only the fluid to pass through a filtering medium. Distillation and crystallization are also physical processes used to separate mixtures, based on differences in boiling points and solubilities, respectively. However, these techniques do not rely on particle size for separation, as chromatography does.