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Difference Between Mixtures and Compounds

July 4, 2018 by Rachna C 4 Comments

Mixtures vs Compounds

Compounds and mixtures are two important categories of matter. The mixtures, on one side, are formed by the physical mixing of one or more than one substances. Whereas the compounds are produced by chemical interaction at the molecular level.

There is a proper chemical bonding between two or more elements at the time of compound formation. But no such thing occurs in the case of the mixture, as there is no chemical reaction between the components.

The mixtures have no such decided ratio of their components. In contrast, elements of a compound combine in a fixed proportion. In case this decided ratio changes, the desired compound won’t generate.

There is no involvement of energy in the mixture formation. Contrastingly, the formation of a compound depends upon the give and take of energy, i.e., the energy changes.

We can easily separate the components of the mixture. But, the compounds are chemically bonded, so we cannot separate them through physical processes.

In this section, we will provide you with the primary differences between compounds and mixtures.

matter and its components

Content: Mixtures Vs Compounds

  1. Comparison Chart
  2. What are Mixtures?
  3. What are Compounds?
  4. Key Differences
  5. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for Comparison MixturesCompounds
Meaning

Mixtures are the impure substances, made up of two or more physically mixed substances. They can be homogeneous or heterogeneous by nature.Compounds are the pure form, made up of two or more chemically mixed elements. These are generally homogeneous.
Examples

Alloys like brass; steel, oceanic water (salt and water), mixtures of gases, etc. Compounds like Baking soda, Methane, Salt, etc.
Composition

The substances which are found in the mixtures are not in fixed quantity, that means their ratio varies.But in the case of compounds, the elements are present in fixed quantity, that means their ratio is fixed.
Properties
The properties of the mixtures also vary (not fixed) as it depends on the type of substances and the quantity by which these are being mixed.For the particular type of compound, the properties are fixed and do not vary, as the elements present in the compounds are fixed and are in the fixed ratio.
FormulaMixtures do not have a certain formula.
Compounds have a specific formula, depending on the constituents present.
Separation

The substances of the mixtures are easy to separate by different physical methods like filtration, chromatography, evaporation.
The elements are not easy to separate and if done than it is by chemical methods.
Substances No new substances are formed from the mixtures, due to the unchangeable properties of its constituents.
There is always formation of the new substances, due to the mixing of the chemical properties of the different constituents.
Melting/Boiling point

Mixtures do not have fixed melting or boiling point.
The compound once formed, have fixed melting and boiling point.
Heat change
There is no heat change, or involvement of energy is observed when mixtures are made.There is a heat change, and energy is used or released during the formation of the compounds, as it is a chemical reaction.

What are Mixtures?

Chemistry considers mixtures as impure substances. This is because a mixture is simply a combination or a blend of several components. Here, the constituents have no chemical interaction at a molecular level. They are just physically put together, and thus, we can easily separate them by performing simple separation techniques.

When you observe around, you will find mixtures everywhere. The air we breathe, the soil we walk on, and the blood flowing in our veins; are all typical examples of mixtures.

Definition of Mixtures

A substance formed by physically mixing two or more different materials in a random proportion without any molecular bonding is referred to as a mixture.

Properties of Mixtures

  • The components of mixtures have no chemical bonding between their respective molecules.
  • Thus, the constituting elements don’t lose their originality, i.e., the characteristic properties during mixture formation.
  • In mixtures, neither new chemical bonds form nor old bonds break.
  • The mixtures don’t have a decided melting or boiling point.
  • There is no give or take of energy at the mixture formation.
  • We can separate constituents of the mixtures through simple separation methods, including:
  1. Sieving
  2. Distillation
  3. Decantation
  4. Filtration

Types of Mixtures

We can classify the mixtures into two prime categories: Homogenous and Heterogenous.

Homogenous Mixture

The homogenous mixtures are those which have a uniform distribution of their components. In other words, we can say that these mixtures have similar characteristic properties throughout the mixture.homogenous mixtures

For instance, when you mix sugar, salt and water together to form a solution, every drop of the solution will taste the same. This indicates that the particles are evenly homogenized within the solution.

Some more examples of homogenous mixtures are:

  • Beverages: Like cola, fruit juice, tea, coffee etc.

Beverages

  • Air: Contains all its constituent gases uniformly distributed in a fixed proportion.

Air

  • Blood: All the components of blood, including RBCs, WBCs, platelets, antibodies etc., are evenly dispersed.

Blood

Properties of Homogenous Mixture

  • In homogenous mixtures, the particles are so closely associated that their respective boundaries can’t be differentiated.
  • The size of the particles in these sorts or mixtures is smaller than one nanometre.
  • The particles of these mixtures do not exhibit the Tyndall effect.
  • We can’t separate the mixture’s constituents particles through filtration, centrifugation or decantation.

Heterogeneous Mixtures

Heterogeneous mixtures are those mixtures that lack uniformity. Here, the components are randomly dispersed throughout the mixture. In most of heterogeneous mixtures, the distinction between the constituent particles is clearly visible.heterogenous mixture

For instance, if we mix sugar and rice together, the difference between both them is clearly visible. We can easily separate Rice and sugar particles either manually or by using a sieve.

Properties of Heterogeneous Mixtures

  • The constituents of heterogeneous mixtures are readily identifiable as the boundaries of the particles are clearly separated.
  • The size of the particles here is larger than one nanometre.
  • The constituent particles of these mixtures exhibit the Tyndall effect.
  • In these mixtures, the particles remain unevenly scattered.
  • We can segregate the constituent particles of these mixtures by methods like decantation, filtration, sieving etc.

Example of Heterogenous MIxture

  • Soil: The soil contains several components mixed together, such as sand, mud, gravel, pebbles, rocks, organic debris etc.

Soil

  • Cereal and Milk: Our regular food items are mainly heterogeneous in nature. Milk and cereal are one such example.

Milk and cereal mixture

What are Compounds?

Chemistry considers compounds as pure substances. A compound generates by the interaction of particles at their molecular level. The constituent particles of any compound are chemically bonded together.

As the components combine chemically, thus they lose their originality. That means the characteristic properties of a compound totally vary from its constituting elements.

Also, the components of a compound have a fixed ratio in which they interact. This infers that all the elements have their certain pre-decided proportion to form a specific compound.
For instance, a water molecule can only form if 2 atoms of hydrogen and 1 atom of oxygen combine. In cases where the proportion of hydrogen or oxygen becomes more or less, it will generate something else but not water.

Definition of Compound

A pure substance formed by the chemical interaction between two or more elements combined in a definite ratio is referred to as a compound.

Properties of compounds

  • The compounds have a fixed melting and boiling point.
  • Because of the chemical bonding between the constituents, we can’t separate them by physical separation techniques.
  • The properties of a compound and its components are different.
  • The constituents combine in a fixed ratio to generate a compound.
  • During the compound formation, old bonds break and new bonds form.
  • There is the involvement of energy while the compound formation.
  • We represent all the chemical compounds by specific chemical formulas.

Some common examples of Compounds

  • Salt: Salt is a compound formed by the chemical reaction between sodium and chlorine.

salt

  • Baking Soda: Composed of sodium, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen chemically interact together.

baking soda

  • Water: It contains two hydrogens and one oxygen covalently bound together.

water

  • Sugar: It is an organic compound containing carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

sugar

Types of Compound

We can categorize the compounds based on two major criteria:

1. Based on the type of bond

2. Based on the presence of carbon

1. Based on the type of bond

We can classify the compounds into three main types based on the bond existing between them.

Ionic Compounds

These compounds have an ionic bond between the constituting elements. This type of bond forms by the give and take of the electron between two atoms. In other words, the positive cation reacts with negative anions to produce the ionic bond.

Examples of such compounds are NaCl, H2O, MgCl2, CuSO4 etc.

Covalent Compounds

They possess covalent interaction between their components. The covalent bond generates due to the sharing of electrons between two atoms. Here, instead of completely giving or taking the electron, adjacent atoms mutually share the electrons.

Common examples of covalent compounds are CH4, NH3, H2, O2 etc.

Coordinate Compounds

These are neutral compounds that consist of a central metal ion. This coordinate centre remains surrounded array of ligands.

Examples of these compounds are [Co (NH3)6] Cl3, Cu2[Fe (CN)6] etc.

2. Based on the presence of carbon

On this basis, compounds are of two types:

Organic Compounds

The compounds containing carbon are organic compounds.

For example, CH4, NaCOOH, C2HCl3O, C2H2O2, HC6H7O7 etc.

Inorganic Compounds

The compounds deprive of carbon are inorganic.
For example, H2SO4, HCl, CaCl2, Na2SO4 etc.

Key Differences Between Mixtures and Compounds

  1. Mixtures are impure substances formed due to the physical mixing of two or more components. On the other side, compounds are pure substances. They form by the chemical interaction between the constituents at the molecular level.
  2. No chemical bonds form in the case of mixtures. While the chemical bonds form the compounds.
  3. The components of the mixture are not definite, but the compounds are in a fixed ratio.
  4. Separation of the components of the mixture is easily possible by the physical separation methods. In contrast, the elements linked by chemical bonding in the compounds can’t be separated by these methods.
  5. There is no energy involvement while mixture formation. But there is a give and take of energy during the compound formation.
  6. Examples of mixtures are Alloys like brass, bismuth, chromium, oceanic water (salt and water), etc.
    While Sodium Chloride, Baking soda, Methane, Salt, etc., are examples of the compounds.

Conclusion

You can easily distinguish the properties of mixtures and compounds with this article. This difference can be helpful in understanding these basic topics of chemistry. As well as it will provide general information about the things in your household life.

More Comparisons:

  1. Difference Between Molecules and Compounds
  2. Difference Between Physical and Chemical Change
  3. Difference Between True Solution, Colloidal Solution, and Suspension
  4. Difference Between Solute and Solvent
  5. Difference Between Tyndall Effect and Brownian Motion

Filed Under: Science

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. H says

    November 16, 2019 at 6:50 am

    Very helpful

    Reply
  2. Kritika Garg says

    June 28, 2020 at 7:28 pm

    Thanks a lot it helped me and the data is give in tabular form which makes it interesting and attractive. Thank you!

    Reply
  3. Sarah says

    October 15, 2020 at 6:55 pm

    Wow very informative it really helped me so that is a thumbs up 👍👍👍

    Reply
  4. Stan says

    December 16, 2020 at 8:19 pm

    Extremely helpful with revision for my upcoming science test! I reccomend to anyone who is stuck!

    Reply

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