- Characteristics of homogeneous mixtures
- 1- They consist of a single phase
- Examples:
- 2- Its composition is identical
- 3- They look uniform to the naked eye
- 4- They cannot be filtered
- 5- Most are transparent
- References
The homogeneous blends have distinctive characteristics, noting that consist of a single phase, its composition is identical, uniform look naked eye, not ses can filter and most are transparent.
A mixture consists of the union of two or more chemical substances that retain their chemical identities. In the case of homogeneous mixtures, the different substances that compose it cannot be detected either with the naked eye, or with any other optical magnitude. Its components, then, are in the same phase and do not present different properties in different portions.
This type of mixture is often called a solution. An example of a solution is mixing water with salt. Regardless of how much of either of these two items is used, each serving of this mixture will have water and salt in the same ratio.
Characteristics of homogeneous mixtures
1- They consist of a single phase
Matter exists in a liquid, solid or gaseous state, regardless of the type of molecule that forms it. This property is known as the phase of matter.
A homogeneous mixture will consist of a single phase. Thus, liquid-liquid, solid-solid and gas-gas combinations can be given. But you can also mix gas-liquid and solid-liquid, both resulting in liquid.
Now, all gas-gas mixtures are homogeneous. This happens because the gas molecules are widely separated from each other, leaving large empty spaces.
On the other hand, to obtain a homogeneous mixture of two solids, they have to go through a fusion process. Once the components have melted, they are mixed and allowed to solidify. This is what happens with alloys.
Examples:
Liquids: water and alcohol
Solids: copper and tin (bronze)
Gases: oxygen and nitrogen (air)
Gas-liquid: water vapor
Solid-liquid: coffee (liquid) and sugar
2- Its composition is identical
The distribution of the particles in homogeneous mixtures is uniform; that is, each portion has the same composition and properties.
An example of this is natural gas. Each portion of this gas contains methane, ethane, propane, butane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen, and helium.
Therefore, in each sample that is taken of this gas, it will be verified that it has exactly the same proportion of each of its components.
The same goes for sugar water. Each time a sample of a certain blend is tasted, it will have the same level of sweetness.
3- They look uniform to the naked eye
With the naked eye, the components of homogeneous mixtures cannot be distinguished and do not show discontinuities. If you observe a coffee with milk and sugar, for example, it is not possible to differentiate which part is the coffee, the sugar or the milk.
This does not happen with heterogeneous mixtures, as in the case of the combination of salt and pepper or of sugar and sand, where both elements are clearly noticeable.
Because of this, it is sometimes impossible to tell just by looking if it is a solvent or a solution. For example, a glass of plain water looks the same as a glass of salted water.
4- They cannot be filtered
Although the mixtures can be separated using different physical or mechanical processes, the filtrate will not achieve purification if they are homogeneous.
In this way, if vinegar were passed through a filter, its two components would not be separated: water and acetic acid.
5- Most are transparent
Except for the solid homogeneous mixtures, all are transparent; these is, you can look through them. Even if they have color, they retain this property.
References
- Olmsted, J. and Williams, GM (1997). Chemistry: The Molecular Science. Iowa: WCB Publihers.
- Kotz, JC, Treichel, PM Townsend, JR and Treichel, DA (2014). Chemistry & Chemical Reactivity. Connecticut: Cengage Learning.
- Helmenstine, AM (2017, April 03). 10 Examples of Mixtures Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Mixtures. Thought Co. Recovered from thoughtco.com.
- Phases of matter. (2015, May 05). POT. Glenn Research Center. Recovered from grc.nasa.gov.
- Bettelheim, FA, Brown, WH, Campbell, MK and Farrell, SO (2009). Introduction to General, Organic and Biochemistry. California: Brooks Cole.
- Syamal, A. (2007). Living Science Chemistry 9. Delhi: Ratna Sagar.