Mixtures - Key terms



ALLOY:

A mixture of two or more metals.

AQUEOUS:

A term describing a solution in which a substance or substances are dissolved in water.

ATOM:

The smallest particle of an element.

CHEMICAL SPECIES:

A generic term used for any substance studied in chemistry—whether it be an element, compound, mixture, atom, molecule, ion, and so forth.

COMPOUND:

A substance made up of atoms of more than one element, which are chemically bonded and usually joined inmolecules. The composition of a compound is always the same, unless it is changed chemically.

DISPERSION:

A term describing the distribution of particles in a fluid.

ELEMENT:

A substance made up of only one kind of atom. Unlike compounds, elements cannot be chemically broken down into other substances.

EMULSIFIER:

A surfactant.

EMULSION:

A mixture of two immiscible liquids such as oil and water, made by dispersing microscopic droplets of one liquid in another. In creating an emulsion, surfactants act as bridges between the two liquids.

FLUID:

A substance with the ability to flow. In physical sciences such as chemistry and physics, "fluid" refers both to liquids and gases.

HETEROGENEOUS:

A term describing a mixture that is not the same throughout; rather, it has various regions possessing different properties. An example of a mixture is sand in a container of water. Rather than dissolving to form a homogeneous mixture, as sugar would, the sand sinks to the bottom.

HOMOGENEOUS:

A term describing a mixture that is the same throughout, as for example when sugar is fully dissolved in water. A solution is a homogenous mixture.

IMMISCIBLE:

Possessing a negligible value of miscibility.

ION:

An atom or group of atoms that has lost or gained one or more electrons, and thus has a net electric charge.

MISCIBILITY:

A qualitative term identifying the relative ability of two substances to dissolve in one another.

MIXTURE:

A substance with a variable composition, meaning that it is composed of molecules or atoms of differing types. Compare with pure substance or compound.

MOLECULE:

A group of atoms, usually but not always representing more than one element, joined in a structure. Compounds are typically made of up molecules.

PHENOMENOLOGICAL:

A term describing scientific definitions based purely on experimental phenomena. These only convey part of the picture, however—primarily, the part a chemist can perceive either through measurement or through the senses, such as sight. A structural definition is therefore usually preferable to a phenomenological one.

PURE SUBSTANCE:

A substance that has the same composition throughout. Pure substances are either elements or compounds, and should not be confused with mixtures. A homogeneous mixture is not the same as a pure substance, because although it has an unvarying composition, it cannot be reduced to a single type of atom or molecule.

SOLUTION:

A homogeneous mixture in which one or more substances is dissolved in another substances—for example, sugar dissolved in water.

STRUCTURAL:

A term describing scientific definitions based on aspects of molecular structure rather than purely phenomenological data.

SURFACTANT:

A substance made up of molecules that are both water-and oil-soluble, which acts as an agent for joining other substances in an emulsion.

SUSPENSION:

A term that refers to a mixture in which solid particles are suspended in a fluid.

User Contributions:

1
Katelyn
I am struggleing on some homework croosword and the clue is ways of describing a substance it has 10 letters. The 2nd letter is r and the 7th letter is t can someone tell me the answer.

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