8/13/2021 Mixture - Wikipedia

Mixture
In chemistry, a mixture is a material made up of two or more different Chemical
substance/substances which are not chemically combined.[1] A mixture is the physical combination of
two or more substances in which the identities are retained and are mixed in the form of solutions,
suspensions and colloids.[2][3]

Mixtures are one product of mechanically blending or mixing chemical substances such as elements
and compounds, without chemical bonding or other chemical change, so that each ingredient
substance retains its own chemical properties and makeup.[4] Despite the fact that there are no
chemical changes to its constituents, the physical properties of a mixture, such as its melting point,
may differ from those of the components. Some mixtures can be separated into their components by
using physical (mechanical or thermal) means. Azeotropes are one kind of mixture that usually poses
considerable difficulties regarding the separation processes required to obtain their constituents
(physical or chemical processes or, even a blend of them).[5][6][7]

Contents
[8]Characteristics of mixtures
Homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures
Solution
Gases
Distinguishing between mixture types
Homogenization
See also
References

[8]Characteristics of mixtures
Mixtures can be characterized by being separable by mechanical means e.g. heat, filtration,
gravitational sorting, centrifugation etc.[9] Mixtures can be either homogeneous or heterogeneous': a
mixture in which constituents are distributed uniformly is called homogeneous, such as salt in water,
otherwise it is called heterogeneous, such as sand in water.

One example of a mixture is air. Air is a homogeneous mixture of the gaseous substances nitrogen,
oxygen, and smaller amounts of other substances. Salt, sugar, and substances dissolve in water to
form homogeneous mixtures. A homogeneous mixture in which there is both a solute and solvent
present is also a solution. Mixtures can have any amounts of ingredients.

Mixtures are unlike chemical compounds, because:

The substances in a mixture can be separated using physical methods such as filtration, freezing,
and distillation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixture 1/5
8/13/2021 Mixture - Wikipedia

There is little or no energy change when a mixture forms (see Enthalpy of mixing).
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.[10]

The following table shows the main properties of the three families of mixtures and examples of the
three types of mixture.

Mixtures Table
Dispersion Dissolved
medium or
Solution Colloid Suspension (coarse dispersion)
(mixture dispersed
phase) phase
Gas mixture: air
Gas (oxygen and other None None
gases in nitrogen)
Liquid
aerosol:[11]

Liquid None fog, mist, Spray

Gas vapor, hair
sprays
Solid
aerosol:[11]

Solid None smoke, ice Dust

cloud, air
particulates
Liquid foam:

whipped
Solution:

Gas cream, Sea foam, beer head

oxygen in water
shaving
cream
Emulsion:

Liquid Solution:
milk,
Liquid Vinaigrette
alcoholic beverages mayonnaise,
hand cream
Suspension:

Liquid sol:
Solution:
mud (soil, clay or silt particles are
Solid pigmented
sugar in water suspended in water), chalk powder
ink, blood
suspended in water
Solid foam:

Solution:
aerogel, Foam:

Gas
hydrogen in metals styrofoam, dry sponge
pumice
Solution:

Gel:

Solid amalgam (mercury in

Liquid agar, gelatin, Wet sponge
gold), hexane in
silicagel, opal
paraffin wax
Solution:
Solid sol:

Solid alloys, plasticizers in cranberry Clay, silt, sand, gravel, granite

plastics glass

Homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixture 2/5
8/13/2021 Mixture - Wikipedia

In chemistry, if the volume of a homogeneous suspension is divided in half, the same amount of
material is suspended in both halves of the substance. An example of a homogeneous mixture is air.

In physical chemistry and materials science this refers to substances and mixtures which are in a
single phase. This is in contrast to a substance that is heterogeneous.[12]

Solution

A solution is a special type of homogeneous mixture where the

ratio of solute to solvent remains the same throughout the
solution and the particles are not visible with the naked eye, even
if homogenized with multiple sources. In solutions, solutes will
not settle out after any period of time and they can't be removed
by physical methods, such as a filter or centrifuge.[13] As a
homogeneous mixture, a solution has one phase (solid, liquid, or
gas), although the phase of the solute and solvent may initially
have been different (e.g., salt water).

A diagram representing at the

Gases microscopic level the differences
between homogeneous mixtures,
Air can be more specifically described as a gaseous solution heterogeneous mixtures,
(oxygen and other gases dissolved in the major component, compounds, and elements
nitrogen). Since interactions between molecules play almost no
role, dilute gases form trivial solutions. In part of the literature,
they are not even classified as solutions. In gas, intermolecular space is the greatest—and
intermolecular force of attraction is least. Some examples can be oxygen, hydrogen, or nitrogen.air
can be more specifically described as a gases

Distinguishing between mixture types

Making a distinction between homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures is a matter of the scale of
sampling. On a coarse enough scale, any mixture can be said to be homogeneous, if the entire article
is allowed to count as a "sample" of it. On a fine enough scale, any mixture can be said to be
heterogeneous, because a sample could be as small as a single molecule. In practical terms, if the
property of interest of the mixture is the same regardless of which sample of it is taken for the
examination used, the mixture is homogeneous.

Gy's sampling theory quantitavely defines the heterogeneity of a particle as:[14]

where , , , , and are respectively: the heterogeneity of the th particle of the

population, the mass concentration of the property of interest in the th particle of the population, the
mass concentration of the property of interest in the population, the mass of the th particle in the
population, and the average mass of a particle in the population.

During sampling of heterogeneous mixtures of particles, the variance of the sampling error is
generally non-zero.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixture 3/5
8/13/2021 Mixture - Wikipedia

Pierre Gy derived, from the Poisson sampling model, the following formula for the variance of the
sampling error in the mass concentration in a sample:

in which V is the variance of the sampling error, N is the number of particles in the population (before
the sample was taken), q  i is the probability of including the ith particle of the population in the
sample (i.e. the first-order inclusion probability of the ith particle), m i is the mass of the ith particle
of the population and a i is the mass concentration of the property of interest in the ith particle of the
population.

The above equation for the variance of the sampling error is an approximation based on a
linearization of the mass concentration in a sample.

In the theory of Gy, correct sampling is defined as a sampling scenario in which all particles have the
same probability of being included in the sample. This implies that q i no longer depends on i, and can
therefore be replaced by the symbol q. Gy's equation for the variance of the sampling error becomes:

where abatch is that concentration of the property of interest in the population from which the sample
is to be drawn and Mbatch is the mass of the population from which the sample is to be drawn.

Homogenization

See also
Chemical substance
Mixing (process engineering)

References
1. Chemistry, International Union of Pure and Applied. "IUPAC Gold Book - mixture" (https://goldboo
k.iupac.org/html/M/M03949.html). goldbook.iupac.org. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
2. Whitten K.W., Gailey K. D. and Davis R. E. (1992). General chemistry, 4th Ed. Philadelphia:
Saunders College Publishing. ISBN 978-0-03-072373-5.
3. Petrucci, Ralph H.; Harwood, William S.; Herring, F. Geography (2002). General chemistry:
principles and modern applications (https://archive.org/details/generalchemistry00hill) (8th ed.).
Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-014329-7. LCCN 2001032331 (https://lcc
n.loc.gov/2001032331). OCLC 46872308 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/46872308).
4. De Paula, Julio; Atkins, P. W. (2002). Atkins' Physical Chemistry (7th ed.). ISBN 978-0-19-
879285-7.
5. Alberts B.; et al. (2002). Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th Ed. Garland Science. ISBN 978-0-
8153-4072-0.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixture 4/5
8/13/2021 Mixture - Wikipedia

6. Laidler K. J. (1978). Physical chemistry with biological applications. Benjamin/Cummings. Menlo

Park. ISBN 978-0-8053-5680-9.
7. Weast R. C., Ed. (1990). CRC Handbook of chemistry and physics. Boca Raton: Chemical
Rubber Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-8493-0470-5.
8. Pleasants, Julian M., ed. (18 April 2017), "A Call to Duty" (https://dx.doi.org/10.5744/florida/97808
13054254.003.0003), Home Front, University Press of Florida, ISBN 978-0-8130-5425-4,
retrieved 11 August 2021
9. Ashworth, William; Littl1, Charles E., eds. (2001). "Mixture". The Encyclopedia of Environmental
Studies. Online publisher:Science Online. Facts on File, Inc.
10. "Definition of mixture - Chemistry Dictionary" (https://www.chemicool.com/definition/mixture.html).
www.chemicool.com. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
11. Everett, D. H. (23 July 1971). Manual of Symbols and Terminology for Physicochemical Quantities
and Units. Appendix II Definitions, Terminology and Symbols in Colloid and Surface Chemistry.
Part I (https://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/1972/pdf/3104x0577.pdf) (PDF) (Report).
London: International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry: Division of Physical Chemistry.
Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20161028084759/https://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/pd
f/1972/pdf/3104x0577.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 28 October 2016. Retrieved 28 October
2016.
12. Lew, Kristi (2009). "Homogeneous". Acids and Bases, Essential Chemistry. New York: Chelsea
House Publishing. Online publisher: Science Online. Facts on File, Inc. ISBN 978-0-7910-9783-0.
access date: 2010–01-01
13. "Solution (chemistry)" (authors: William Ashworth and Charles E. Little) |chapter-format=
requires |chapter-url= (help). Encyclopedia of Environmental Studies, New Edition. Online
publisher:Science Online. Facts on File, Inc. 2001. access date: 2010–01-01
14. Gy, P (1979). Sampling of Particulate Materials: Theory and Practice. Amsterdam: Elsevier.

IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online
corrected version:  (2006–) "mixture (https://goldbook.iupac.org/M03949.html)".
doi:10.1351/goldbook.M03949 (https://doi.org/10.1351%2Fgoldbook.M03949)

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mixture&oldid=1038295757"

This page was last edited on 11 August 2021, at 18:00 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;

additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mixture 5/5