Chapter 5

Mixtures of Matter
Objectives

■ Contrast mixtures and substances.

■ Classify mixtures as homogeneous or
heterogeneous.
■ List and describe several techniques
used to separate mixtures.
Recall . . .
Anything that has mass
and takes up space

Matter

Substance Mixture

Element Compound Homogeneous Heterogeneous

Matter that has a uniform,

unchanging composition
Mixtures: 4-part Definition
● A mixture is a physical
combination of 2 or
more substances. (There
are no chemical bonds
between the substances.
No reaction has occurred
between them.)
● The substances in a
mixture retain their own
properties. (The almonds
in the candy mix are still
almonds and the raisins
are still raisins!)
 Mixtures: 4-part Definition
1. The composition of a mixture is variable. (Iron
nitrate and water, for example, can be combined to
form an infinite number of mixtures. Two of them
are shown below.)

2. The substances in a mixture can be separated by

physical means. (Since there has been no
chemical reaction between them, no chemical
reaction is needed to separate the substances.)
Types of Mixtures
■ Heterogeneous ■ Homogeneous
❑ A mixture that is not ❑ A mixture that has a
blended smoothly constant composition
throughout. throughout.
❑ The individual ❑ Every drop of the
substances in the mixture will have the
mixture are easily same relative amounts
distinguishable. of its
❑ Examples are sand & components.
water, orange juice ❑ Homogeneous
with pulp & gravel. mixtures are
also called
solutions.
❑ Examples are
salt water and
lemonade.
Solutions
■ Note that a “solid in a solid” solution is called an
alloy.
■ Specifically, an alloy is a homogeneous mixture of
metals or of a metal and a nonmetal, with the metal
the major component.
■ An alloy combines the beneficial properties of
different metals to achieve greater strength and /or
durability.
■ Stainless steel is an alloy of iron,
chromium, and nickel. Other
examples are brass (copper & zinc)
and bronze (copper, zinc, and tin).
Physical Separation of Mixtures
■ Substances in a mixture are separated by physical
processes. These are based on differences in
the physical properties of the substances.

■ Differences in color, shape, or size are used to

manually separate different stones in a gravel
sample.
■ Since oil will float on top
of water, oil can be siphoned
from water because of
differences in density.
Physical Separation of Mixtures (cont.)

■ Iron can be separated

out of a solid mixture
because it is attracted
to a magnet
■ (Note: Iron is NOT
magnetic – it is
ATTRACTED to a
magnet.)
Physical Separation of Mixtures (cont.)

■ Filtration uses a
screen or filter (any
porous barrier) to
separate the
differently-sized
components of a
heterogeneous mixture.
Smaller particles will
pass through but larger
ones will be trapped by
a filter.
 Physical Separation of Mixtures (cont.)
■ Substances, like table salt, that
are soluble in water can be
separated from other insoluble
solids by simply adding water.
■ The salt can then be separated
from the water by distillation.
Distillation is a technique that
separates the components of
solutions based on differences
in their boiling points.
■ A variation of this is simple
evaporation – the liquid in a
solution evaporates without the
addition of heat.
Physical Separation of Mixtures (cont.)

■ In paper
chromatography, a
mixture of substances
will separate out on
paper primarily due to
the different
tendencies of each to
be attracted to or
travel across the
surface of another
material.
Physical Separation of Mixtures (cont.)
Crystallization is a
separation technique for
homogenous mixtures that
results in the formation of
pure solid particles from a
solution containing the
dissolved substance.
In rock candy, for example, as water evaporates from a
sugar water solution, the solution becomes more
concentrated. The amount of water present cannot keep all
the sugar in the solution dissolved. The sugar therefore
crystallizes on the string.
Physical Separation of Mixtures (cont.)

■ Sublimation is the process of a solid

changing directly to a gas, which can be
used to separate mixtures of solids when
one sublimates and the other does not.