You will find infinite mixtures and solutions around you. We can see and touch some of these particles but not all of them. Air is known to be a mixture of various gases, but we cannot see or distinguish them. Similarly, the soil is also a mixture of different types of particles and organic matter. We can see it with our naked eyes. Hence, the mixture can be defined as one or more elements that can be combined physically and can be separated by the physical method. As there is no chemical change in the mixture, the properties of the components cannot change.
Some of the examples of the mixture are:
- Air
- Coffee
- Steel
- Salt and pepper
Everything around us is a mixture of something, be it the cooked food you eat or packing your school bag. These mixtures can be further divided into Homogeneous mixture and Heterogeneous mixture.
We will learn about Homogeneous Mixtures and Examples of Homogeneous Mixtures.
Definition of Homogeneous Mixture
Homogeneous mixtures are solid, liquid or gaseous mixtures. The mixtures are uniform in nature; hence, whenever you take a portion of it to test, it will be the same, and you cannot distinguish or separate them easily.
Therefore, the homogeneous mixture can be defined as a type of mixture in which all the elements are uniformly distributed, i.e., it has the same proportions of its elements. It has the same chemical composition throughout.
Features of Homogeneous Mixture
Homogeneous mixtures possess certain properties which cannot be observed in other mixtures like heterogeneous. All these properties will help us to distinguish homogeneous mixtures from other types of mixtures. The properties of the homogeneous mixtures are as follows:
- Samples taken from different parts of a mixture will have identical components and characters.
- It consists of a single-phase or type. It can be only solid, liquid or gaseous.
- It is very difficult to separate homogeneous mixtures physically or with any mechanical means like filtration.
- Even if the components have their chemical properties, they cannot be separated visibly. But, if you see through the molecular level, it has different or multiple compounds present.
Different examples of Homogeneous Mixtures
There are many examples of homogeneous mixtures that you can see in your daily lives. Ten examples of homogeneous mixtures are as follows:
- Alloys
- Seawater
- Natural gas
- Blood
- Mixtures of gases required in diving
- Air
- Wine
- Vinegar
- Detergent
- Rainwater
All chemical solutions can be a homogeneous mixture. Examples of solutions are coffee, tea, etc. Emulsions are also examples of homogeneous mixture; some of the examples include mayonnaise, egg yolk, homogenised milk, etc.
Additional classification of mixtures
Mixtures can be further classified into different types. All these classifications help us to determine the type and how it can be separated or even if it is possible to separate them or not. Mixtures can be categorised into:
Solution
It can be defined as a mixture of one or more homogeneous components. The size of solute particles in every solution is very small. It is not visible to the naked eye; it is 1nm small. An example of a solution is sugar powder in water.
The solution is further divided into solute and solvent.
Solute
The components of a solution which can easily be dissolved in a solvent is known as solute. The solutes are the smaller components present in any solution. For example, in the solution of sugar powder in water, sugar powder is the solute present.
Solvent
The component of a solution, which can dissolve the other elements in itself, is known as a solvent. The solvent always constitutes the larger part of a solution. For example, in the sugar powder and water solution, the water is the solvent as it can dissolve the sugar particles in itself.
Suspension
It is a heterogeneous mixture, i.e., the particles of two or more substances can be separated physically. In this, the particles are suspended, and they can be easily distinguished or separated. It can be viewed by the naked eye.
The diameter of the mixed particles is greater than 1000nm. The particles can be filtered easily using filter paper. The particles present in a suspension can settle down after a few minutes. Examples of suspension are mud water, slaked lime, etc.
Colloids
Colloids or colloidal solutions are mixtures of microscopically dispersed insolubles of one or more substances suspended in one another. Not all the mixtures are colloids. The particles present in the mixture do not settle down but get evenly dispersed in one another. The size of the colloids ranges between 1nm to 1000nm.
The colloidal solutions can be further divided into sol, gel, aerosol, emulsion and foam. Examples of colloids are cheese, rubber, fire retardant, etc.
Tyndall Effect
It is a phenomenon in which the particles present in a colloidal solution scatter the beams of light in different directions. This phenomenon applies to all colloidal solutions and some suspension mixtures. The Tyndall effect helps to determine if a solution is colloidal or not. So, in many labs, the Tyndall effect is used to distinguish between solutions.
How does the Tyndall effect help to distinguish colloids?
When a beam of light passes through a colloidal solution, the particles present in the solution do not allow the light to pass through it. The light particles collide with the colloidal particles and scatter in different directions. This phenomenon of scattering light in different directions helps to see the colloidal particles.
Conclusion: Takeaway
After reading about various mixtures, it is clear that all the particles present in nature are in the form of mixtures. All these mixtures are used to make better materials which can be used in our day to day lives like utensils made with steel, the mixture of sugar and salt in the water which helps to energise our body, etc.
One of the biggest examples of mixtures can be medicines and vaccines for various diseases. Mixtures like cement and other adhesive agents are used in every building, be it a house or roads, bridges, etc.