2.3.3

Compounds & Mixtures

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Compounds and Mixtures

A compound or mixture is made when there are two or more different atoms in a material.

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Compounds

  • A compound is when the different atoms are joined or linked together. It is difficult to separate the different atoms because they are glued together in a ‘chemical bond’.
  • Examples of compounds include:
    • Carbon dioxide (carbon and oxygen elements joined).
    • Water (hydrogen and oxygen elements joined).
    • Plastic (carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and usually other atoms too depending on the type of plastic).
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Mixtures

  • A mixture is when the different atoms are not joined together.
  • So the different atoms can be separated.
  • Imagine a bag of skittles:
    • All the different flavours can be separated into piles because they are just mixed in the bag, not joined together.
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Mixtures (cont.)

  • A mixture can be made of two or more different compounds as well.
  • As long as there are two different parts then a mixture can be a mixture of: elements and other elements, compounds and other compounds, or elements and compounds.
  • The air we breathe is a mixture of oxygen, carbon dioxide, argon and other gases.

Jump to other topics

1Biology

1.1Cells, Tissues & Organs

1.2Reproduction & Variation

1.3Ecological Relationships & Classification

1.4Digestion & Nutrition

1.5Plants & Photosynthesis

1.6Biological Systems & Processes

2Chemistry

2.1Particles

2.2Chemical Reactions

2.3Atoms, Elements, Compounds

2.4The Periodic Table

2.5Materials & the Earth

2.6Reactivity

2.7Energetics

2.8Properties of Materials

3Physics

3.1Energy

3.2Forces & Motion

3.3Waves

3.4Electricity & Magnetism

3.5Matter

3.6Space Physics

4Thinking Scientifically

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