What is mixture in Chemistry?
A mixture refers to a combination of two or more
- Substances
- Materials
- or components
among which no chemical linkage present.
Characteristics of mixture
In a mixture, the individual components retain their chemical identities and properties, and they can be separated from each other through physical means such as
- Filtration
- distillation,
- or chromatography.
Mixtures can exist in various states of matter, such as
- Gas
- Liquid
- or solid
and they can have different compositions and proportions of the individual components.
Example:
Examples of mixtures are given below :
Air:
Air is a mixture of different gases, primarily
- nitrogen (about 78%)
- and oxygen (about 21%),
along with small amounts of other gases such as
- carbon dioxide,
- neon
- and helium.
Saltwater:
Saltwater is a mixture of water and salt, with the salt called the solute and water called the solvent.
Soil:
Soil is a heterogeneous mixture of numerious components, including
- organic matter
- minerals
- water
- air
- and living organisms.
Trail mix:
Trail mix is a heterogeneous mixture of various food items such as
- Nuts
- Seeds
- dried fruits
- and sometimes chocolate or candy.
Brass:
Brass is an alloy produced from a homogeneous mixture of copper and zinc, with the quantity of each metal predicting the properties of the alloy.
Types Of Mixtures
Following are the two main types of mixtures:
- homogeneous
- and heterogeneous.
Homogeneous mixture:A homogeneous mixture is a mixture in which the components are thoroughly distributed throughout the mixture. |
Heterogeneous mixture:A heterogeneous mixture is a mixture in which the components are not uniformly distributed. |
| There no visible borders or regions of different composition in homogenous mixtures. | There are visible boundaries or regions of different composition. |
| The features of the mixture are the same throughout, and it has a smooth look. | The features of the mixture can differ in different parts of the mixture, and it has a rough appearance |
| Examples of homogeneous mixtures include
|
Examples of heterogeneous mixtures include |
| Saltwater Air and alloys such as brass.
|
mixture of oil and water, a salad, and a mixture of sand and gravel.
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