6. IS MATTER PURE?
Churning makes the lighter components to come to the
surface when a mixture of liquids is spun rapidly.
Commercially for separating the cream from milk,
machine called centrifuge is used.
Many things that we call pure are actually mixtures of
different substances.
All the matter around us can be classified into two groups
– pure substances and mixtures.
When a scientist says that something is pure, he means
that the composition of the substance doesn’t change, no
matter which part of the substance you take for
examination.
But, the composition in mixtures is not always same. The
composition in some mixtures change, depending on the
part you have taken as a sample.
A mixture is generally made of two or more components
that are not chemically combined. The substances in a
mixture retain their own properties, and they can be
physically separated.
Mixtures can be in solid, liquid, gaseous states or the
combination of these three states.
In a homogeneous mixture the components of mixture
are uniformly distributed throughout the bulk. The
components of a homogeneous mixture are too
intimately mixed up that it will be difficult to distinguish
them from one another by visual observation.
Heterogeneous mixture is a mixture made up of different
substances which are not uniformly distributed in it.
Heterogeneous mixtures have visually distinguishable
components, while homogeneous mixtures appear
uniform throughout.
The homogeneous mixture of two or more substances
from which we cannot separate its components by the
process of filtration is called a solution. Solutions can be
in the form of solids, liquids, or gases.
A solution has minimum two components, a solvent and a
solute. The component of the solution that dissolves the
other component in it (usually the component present in
larger quantity) is called solvent. The component of
solution usually the component present in lesser quantity
that is dissolved in the solvent is called solute.
All the aerated drinks are liquid solutions containing
carbon dioxide (gas) as solute and water as solvent.
When white light from sun enters the earth's atmosphere,
the light gets scattered i.e., the light spreads in all
directions by the dust particles, free water molecules and
the molecules of the gases present in the atmosphere.
This phenomenon is called scattering of light.
In a solution the particles are so small in size that we
cannot see them with our naked eyes. They do not
scatter a beam of light passing through the solution and
hence the path of light is not visible in a solution.
A saturated solution is a solution that has dissolved as
much solute as it is capable of dissolving. In a saturated
solution, no more solute can be dissolved at a given
temperature.
Solubility is the number of grams of a solute that
dissolves in 100g of solvent to form a saturated solution
at a given temperature.
If the amount of solute present in a solution is less than
that in the saturated solution, is called an unsaturated
solution.
Temperature of the solute particles and stirring are some
of the factors that affect the rate of solubility of solute in
a solvent.
Solubility is the maximum amount of solute that dissolves
in a solvent at a certain temperature.
The property which helps solute to dissolve in solvent is
known as solubility.
If the amount of solute present is little, the solution is
said to be dilute, and if the amount of solute present is
more, the solution is said to be concentrated.
The concentration of a solution can be defined as the
amount in grams(mass) of solute present in 100 grams of
(mass) solution or the amount (mass) in grams of solute
present in 100 ml of the solution.
Concentration of a solution can be expressed mainly in
three ways. They are:
Mass of solute
(1) Mass percentage of solute = Mass of solution
×100
Volume of solute
(2) Volume percentage of solute = Volume of solution
× 100
(3) Mass by volume percentage of solution =
Mass of solute
× 100
Volume of solution
Suspensions are the heterogeneous mixtures of a solid
and a liquid, in which the solids do not dissolve, like
mixture of soil and water.
Colloids or colloidal solutions are a mixture of two
substances, in which one substance is divided into minute
particles aka colloidal particles and dispersed or
suspended over another substance. These insoluble
particles are inseparable either by filtering or
centrifuging. These particles easily scatter a beam of
visible light. Such mixtures are called colloids or
colloidal solutions.
For a mixture to be classified as a colloid, its suspended
particles must not settle (in the manner that the particles
of suspensions settle at the bottom of the container if left
undisturbed).
These mixtures possess the characteristics in between a
solution and a suspension. They are also called as
colloidal dispersions. Colloidal dispersions may appear
homogeneous but are actually heterogeneous.
Colloidal solutions are heterogeneous in nature and
always consist of at least two phases; the disperse
phase and the dispersion medium. Disperse phase is
the substance that present in small proportion and
consists of particles of colloidal size (1nm to 100nm).
Dispersion medium is the medium in which the colloidal
particles are dispersed. These two phases can be in the
form of solid, liquid or a gas. Thus, different types of
colloidal solutions are possible depending upon the
physical state of the two phases.
Particles in a colloidal solution can easily scatter a beam
of visible light. This scattering of a beam of light is called
the Tyndall effect, named after the scientist who
discovered it.