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Difference Between Pure Substance and Mixture
Introduction
Pure substances are elements that cannot be broken further like oxygen, metals and metals, non-metals, etc. In contrast, mixtures are combinations of two or more elements mixed like lemonade.
We should not be getting confused with pure substances and mixtures. They are two separate entities. Pure substances are pure elements that can’t be broken further into smaller entities. They can be in any state of matter like liquid, solid, or gas. The mixtures are combinations of two or more elements or substances just understood by a simple example. Water is composed of two elements hydrogen and oxygen in a water molecule hydrogen and oxygen are two separate elements these are pure substances. When they mix by a chemical bonding, they form water i.e., a compound. When we prepare lemonade, we mix water, sugar, salt, and lemon in it. This lemonade is a mixture of sugar, water, salt, and lemon. So, the mixtures are mixtures or combinations of some pure elements that are mixed not bonded by any chemical bond.
What do you mean by Pure Substances?
Pure substances are elements or single entities that can’t be broken into smaller parts. Like metals, and non-metals. They are formed by two similar elements like an oxygen molecule, a Hydrogen molecule, Gold, Silver, Iron, etc. cannot be broken further, even after breaking a gold bar, it will remain gold.
A pure substance can exist in any one form liquid, solid, or gas. A pure substance that has a different molecular arrangement will remain the same through all stages of all phases. Example: A carbon molecule is a pure substance that exists in different forms like graphite, Diamond, and gaseous. They remain constant at different phases even under high pressure.
Pure substance contains only one type of atom or element. They are homogeneous. Water is also considered in pure substance. Ice is homogenous and exits in solid forms, similarly, water in vapour form exists in gaseous form.
Type of Pure Substances
Pure substances are classified into two parts based on their chemical composition.
Elements − Elements are pure substances that exist in nature in the form of metal, non-metals, and metalloids. They can’t be broken into simpler forms by any chemical or physical change. They are pure and homogenous. They have a high melting and boiling point.
Examples − Gold, Silver, Copper, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Iron, Aluminium, sulphur, diamond, etc.
Compound − Compounds are combinations of two or more metals or elements that are chemically bonded together. They are also homogenous as they are composed of two or more pure elements in a fixed proportion. They cannot be separated by physical methods but can be separated by other chemical or electrochemical methods. They exhibit different properties from the elements it is made of. They have a high melting and boiling point. They are combined by ionic or covalent bonds.
Examples − Water molecules, Ammonia, table salt, baking soda, etc.
Examples
Elements are metals, non-metals, or metalloids that exist in the periodic table. Compounds are the products formed by the chemical reaction of these elements. Here is the list of examples of pure substances.
| Elements | Compounds |
|---|---|
| Metals − Iron $\mathrm{(Fe)}$, Silver $\mathrm{(Ag)}$, Gold $\mathrm{(Au)}$, Copper $\mathrm{(Cu)}$, Sodium $\mathrm{(Na)}$, Lithium $\mathrm{(Li)}$, Potassium $\mathrm{(K)}$, Magnesium $\mathrm{(Mg)}$, Calcium $\mathrm{(Ca)}$, etc. | The water molecule $\mathrm{(H_{2}O)}$, Carbon Di Oxide $\mathrm{(CO_{2})}$, Ammonia $\mathrm{(NH_{4})}$, Hydrogen Peroxide $\mathrm{(H_{2}O_{2})}$, Common Salt $\mathrm{(NaCl)}$, Alcohol $\mathrm{C_{2}H_{5}OH}$, Sulphuric Acid $\mathrm{H_{2}SO_{4}}$, etc. |
| Non-Metals − Hydrogen $\mathrm{(H)}$, Helium, Oxygen $\mathrm{(O)}$, Carbon $\mathrm{(C)}$, Sulphur $\mathrm{S}$, Chlorine $\mathrm{(Cl)}$, Bromine $\mathrm{(Br)}$, etc. | Other examples are Baking Soda $\mathrm{(NHCO_{3})}$, the medicines we used like Aspirin, etc. |
| Metalloids − Antimony $\mathrm{(Sb)}$, Boron$\mathrm{(B)}$, Germanium $\mathrm{(Ge)}$, Arsenic $\mathrm{(As)}$, | The carbohydrates like Glucose $\mathrm{(C_{6}H_{12}O_{6})}$, Sucrose, and protein molecules like albumin, histones, Globulins, etc. |
What do you mean by Mixtures?
Mixtures are composed of two or more substances that are mixed. They are not chemically bonded together. Mixtures can be separated by physical or chemical methods like separating funnels, Distillation methods, etc. Mixtures can be homogeneous or heterogeneous if the elements or substances are mixed in different proportions. No energy is used in the preparation of mixtures. They exhibit the same property as the elements from which it is composed of.
Type of Mixtures
Mixtures are of two types − Homogeneous and Heterogeneous. Let's know more about it.
Homogenous Mixtures − The mixture in which two solutes or solvents are mixed uniformly together and cannot be visible by naked eyes are known as homogenous mixtures.
Examples are milk and water, Sugar and water, Air, Ink, Steel, bronze metal, Salt in water or solvent, fruit juices, Ice-cream, etc.
Heterogeneous mixtures − The mixtures are where the two components are not evenly mixed. They are visible to the naked eye.
Examples are Sand in water, and oil in water, suspensions, our blood. They form colloidal solutions and exhibit the Tyndall effect.
Examples
The examples of mixtures are many that we use in our daily life, some are mentioned below
| Homogenous Mixtures | Heterogeneous Mixtures |
|---|---|
|
|
Difference Between Pure Substance and Mixture:
We have read what pure substances and mixtures are, they are quite different from each other. Let’s check the difference between pure substance and mixture.
| Pure Substance | Mixture |
|---|---|
| Pure substances are composed of the same elements. | Mixtures are composed of two or more different elements or compounds. |
| They are homogenous. | They are both homogeneous and heterogeneous. |
| They exhibit the property of the same elements, but in compounds, they exhibit separate properties from elements. | |
| They exhibit the property of elements from which it is formed. | |
| They are pure | They are impure as composed of more components. |
| They cannot be broken into smaller quantities by physical or chemical methods. | They can be separated into elements by physical or chemical methods. |
| Examples − Metals, Non-Metals, Metalloids, Air, Water, etc. | Examples − Smog, Colloidal Solutions, Suspension, Beverages, bleach, etc. |
Conclusion
In the above tutorial, we have read about pure substances and mixtures. We understood that substances are pure elements or mixtures of pure elements and mixtures are formed by the mixing of two or more elements or substances. Those substances are classified into elements and compounds. The elements are those substances that are pure and found mostly in the elementary tables, and compounds are bonded together by covalent or ionic bonds. They have different properties from the elements from which they are composed but elements have the same properties as they are pure substances. Mixtures on the other hand are classified into homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures and can be separated by chemical or physical methods.
FAQs
1. What is a colloidal solution?
A colloidal solution is a heterogeneous mixture, in which the particles of solute are distributed in the solution. These particles are not visible to the naked eye. There are two phases of a colloidal solution: the dispersed phase and the dispersion medium. Ex. Aerosols, foams, Emulsions, Gel, etc.
2. What is the Tyndall effect?
When a beam of light passes through a colloidal solution, the light gets scattered by the particles. This scattering is visible by the path of light. The scattering of light by colloidal particles is known as the Tyndall Effect.
3. What is suspension and their uses?
A suspension is a heterogeneous mixture, the size of the particles is quite large i.e., 100 mm they are suspended throughout the mixture. If the suspension is left undisturbed the particles of solute are settled down at the bottom of the solution. They are used in the preparation of some medicines like milk of magnesia, cough syrups, Paints, whitewashing, etc.
4. Is Human Blood a mixture or compound?
Human blood is a heterogeneous mixture of Proteins, plasma, RBCs, WBC, and platelets. Plasma is the liquid part which is composed of salt and water, and solid parts are RBCs and WBC. They can be separated by the centrifugation method. So blood is a mixture, not a compound.
5. Give some examples of non-metal elements?
Non-metals are not malleable and not a good conductor of electricity. Examples of some non-metal elements are oxygen, hydrogen, Chlorine, Bromine, Phosphorus, Selenium, Iodine, etc.
