MIXTURE

A mixture contains two or more substances that are not chemically combined.

Mixtures are unlike chemical compounds, because:

 The substances in a mixture can be separated using physical methods such
as filtration, freezing, and distillation.
 There is little or no energy change when a mixture forms.
 Mixtures have variable compositions, while compounds have a fixed, definite
formula.
 When mixed, individual substances keep their properties in a mixture, while if
they form a compound their properties can change.

Examples of Common Mixtures:
 Sea water - a mixture of water and various salts.
 Crude oil - a mixture of organic compounds - mainly hydrocarbons.
 Gunpowder - a mixture of potassium nitrate, sulfur and carbon.
 Dry Air - a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, neon and tiny
traces of other gases. (Air normally also contains water vapor as part of the
mixture.)
 Ink - a mixture of colored dyes which can be separated
using chromatography.
 SUBSTANCE
A substance is matter which has a specific composition and specific properties.

Every pure element is a substance. Every pure compound is a substance.

Examples of substances: Iron is an element and hence is also a substance. Methane

is a compound and hence is also a substance.

Examples of non-substances: Salt water is not a substance. It is a mixture of two

substances - sodium chloride and water. Its composition and therefore its properties
are not fixed. Gasoline is not a substance. It is a mixture of hydrocarbons and,
depending on the composition of the gasoline mixture, gasoline's properties can vary.
 SOLUTIONS
A solution is a type of homogeneous mixture that is made up of two or more
substances. A homogeneous mixture is a type of mixture with a uniform
composition. This means that the substances cannot be distinguished easily
from one another.
Some examples of solutions are salt water, rubbing alcohol, and sugar
dissolved in water. When you look closely, upon mixing salt with water, you
can't see the salt particles anymore, making this a homogeneous mixture.
Let's make use of our salt water example to talk about the two main parts of a
solution. These are:

 Solute: this is the substance that makes up the minority of the solution,
or this is the part that is dissolved. In our example of salt water, the
solute is the salt.
 Solvent: this is the substance that makes up the majority of the
solution. This is the part where the solute is dissolved. In our example of
salt water, the solvent is water.
 ACIDS AND BASES
Although I've told you that acids and bases aren't hard to understand, I've got bad
news: There are not one but three common definitions used to describe acids and
bases: Arrhenius acids and bases, Brønsted-Lowry acids and bases, and Lewis acids
and bases. Though this makes it sound as if you'll have to learn about acids and
bases three times, the good news is that for many practical purposes, these three
definitions are roughly equivalent.
Arrhenius Acids and Bases
Way back in the late 1800s, our old friend Svante Arrhenius came up with definitions
of acids and bases while working on kinetics problems.
According to Arrhenius, acids are compounds that break up in water to give off
hydronium (H+) ions. A common example of an Arrhenius acid is hydrochloric acid
(HCl):
 HCl ⇔ H+ + Cl-
The formulas for acids usually start with hydrogen, though organic acids are a notable
exception. The names and formulas of some common acids are given in the table
below:
Acid Name Formula
hydrochloric acidHCl
nitric acid HNO3
phosphoric acid H3PO4
sulfuric acid H2SO4
acetic acid C2H4O2
Arrhenius bases are defined as compounds that cause the formation of the hydroxide
ion when placed in water. One example of an Arrhenius base is sodium hydroxide
(NaOH):
 NaOH ⇔ Na+ + OH-
Bases typically have "OH" in their formulas, though there are exceptions. For example,
ammonia (NH3) doesn't contain hydroxide ions but forms them when it reacts with
water:
 NH3 + H2O ⇔ NH4+ + OH-
The names and formulas of some common bases are in the following table:
Base Name Formula
ammonia NH3
potassium hydroxideKOH
sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3
sodium carbonate Na2CO3
sodium hydroxide NaOH
Metals
Most elements are metals. This includes the alkali metals, alkaline earth
metals, transition metals, lanthanides, and actinides. On the periodic table,
metals are separated from nonmetals by a zig-zag line stepping through
carbon, phosphorus, selenium, iodine, and radon. These elements and those to
the right of them are nonmetals. Elements just to the left of the line may be
termed metalloids or semimetals and have properties intermediate between
those of the metals and nonmetals. The physical and chemical properties of the
metals and nonmetals may be used to tell them apart.

Nonmetals
Nonmetals, with the exception of hydrogen, are located on the right side of the
periodic table. Elements that are nonmetals are hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen,
phosphorus, oxygen, sulfur, selenium, all of the halogens, and the noble gases.
ELEMENTS
Elements are substances that cannot be separated into simpler substances.
Salt is made up of the elements sodium and chloride. Water is made up of the
elements hydrogen and oxygen.

The smallest particles of matter are called atoms. Remember the carrot from
the other chapter. If you continue to chop a carrot into smaller and smaller
pieces, eventually you would reach a point where you could not cut up the
carrot anymore, but still have carrot. You would then have molecules of carrot.
The same applies to elements. If you continually cut up a piece of aluminum,
you will reach a point that you could no longer divide it. These are aluminum
atoms. An atom is the smallest particle of an element that has the properties of
that element. Some properties of aluminum are: shiny, silver colored, fragile,
and thin. Each element has its own type of properties.

COMPOUNDS
A compound is a substance formed when two or more elements are chemically
joined. Water, salt, and sugar are examples of compounds. When the elements
are joined, the atoms lose their individual properties and have different
properties from the elements they are composed of. A chemical formula is used
a quick way to show the composition of compounds. Letters, numbers, and
symbols are used to represent elements and the number of elements in each
compound.