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Chapter (3)
Elements, Compounds and Mixtures
Elements, Compounds and Mixtures
➢ There are only 26 letters that make up the English alphabet.
➢ When these letters are combined in different ways, thousands of different words can be formed.
➢ Just as letters are used to build words, elements build compounds.
➢ There are now 118 known elements, but most of the known mass of the universe consists of just
two elements, hydrogen (92 %) and helium (7%), with all the other elements contributing only 1%
to the total.
➢ Figure shows “the Horsehead nebula showing hugs clouds made up predominantly of hydrogen
and helium.
How a certain number of these elements concentrated together to form the Earth is of great interest
and significance.
➢ There are 94 elements found naturally on the earth but just eight account for more than 98% of the
mass of the Earth’s crust.
➢ Two elements, silicon and oxygen, which are bounded together in silicate rocks, make up almost
three-quarters of the crust.
➢ We have learnt
• Every substance (matter) around us is made up of atom.
• How to classify matter into three states – solid, liquid and gas
➢ So, we can also classify matter as elements, compounds and mixtures.
➢ How do we tell if a substance is an element, a compound or a mixture?

Elements
➢ A substance made up of only one type of atom is called an element.
➢ Elements cannot be split into anything simpler by chemical reactions.
➢ So, an element is a substance that cannot be broken down into two or more substances by chemical
means.

➢ Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are elements. They cannot be broken down further into simpler
substances.
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Classify Elements
➢ Elements may be classified in several ways. Chemists often classify elements based on their
• metallic and non-metallic properties – metals, non-metals, or metalloids (metalloids have both
metallic and non-metallic properties);
• physical states (at room temperature and pressure) – gases, liquids or solids
Compounds
➢ The atom of different elements can join to form compounds.
➢ A compound is a substance made up of two or more different types of atoms joined together by
chemical bonds. (The link joining the atoms is called a chemical bond.)
➢ A compound always has a fixed amount of each element in it.
➢ Water always has two hydrogen atoms for every one oxygen atoms.
➢ Copper (II) oxide always contains 80% copper and 20% oxygen by mass.

There two types of compounds:

➢ molecular compounds where atoms are bonded together.
For example, Water
➢ ionic compounds where many ions (atoms which have gained or lost electrons) are joined together.
For example, sodium chloride.

Compounds have different properties from the elements that they are made from.
Making sodium chloride from its elements
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A compound of sodium and chlorine looks completely different from the element sodium and
chlorine.
➢ Sodium is a silvery solid when fresh and chlorine is a green gas.
➢ But sodium chloride is a white solid.
➢ The elements in a compound cannot be separated by physical means.
Mixtures
➢ A mixture contains two or more elements or compounds that are not chemically bonded
together.
Some Properties of Mixture
➢ A mixture does not have a fixed amount of each element or compound in it.
➢ The elements or compounds in a mixture still have their characteristic properties.
➢ This is because there are no bonds between the substances in a mixture.
➢ The substances in a mixture can be separated by on of the physical methods.
Type of Mixtures
➢ The mixtures may also be heterogeneous or homogeneous. Therefore, the mixtures can be classified
as two main categories: homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures.
➢ Heterogeneous mixture
• A heterogeneous mixture is one that is non-uniform, and where the different components of the
mixture can be seen. The components separate, and the composition varies.
➢ Homogeneous mixture
• A homogeneous mixture is one in which the composition of its components is uniformly mixed
throughout. The components cannot be seen separately on visual or microscopic examination.
Difference between mixture and compound of iron and sulphur
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Metals and Non-metals

➢ Most of the elements in the Periodic Table are metals.
➢ Examples include iron, sodium tin and aluminum.
➢ The rest are non-metals. Carbon, sulphur, chlorine and helium are examples.
Metals and Non-metals in Periodic Table

➢ In the Periodic Table, the element changes in properties from metals to non-metals.
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➢ The elements to the left of yellow block are metals.
➢ The elements to the right of yellow block are non-metals.
➢ For along each side of yellow block are elements that have properties of metals and nonmetals.
These elements are called metalloid metals.
Physical Properties
➢ The best way to tell if a substance is a metal or a non-metal is to look at some of its physical
properties.
➢ Physical properties are those such as density, melting point and electrical conductivity.
How to compare electrical conductivity

Different between physical properties of metals and non-metals

Physical property Metal Non-metal
High (Exceptions: Group I
Density metals and some others like Low densities
gallium have low densiites)
High (Exceptions: Group I
metals and mercury have Low (Exceptions: graphite and
Melting and boiling point
relatively low melting and diamond)
boiling point)
Hard (cannot be scratched
easily) and strong (Exceptions: Soft and can be scartched
Hardness and Softness
Group I metals, mercury, easily (Exception: Diamond)
gallium)
Conductor of electricity Poor conductors (Exceptions:
Good conductors
(conductivity) graphite)
Poor conductors (Exceptions:
Conductor of thermal energy Good conductors
graphite and diamond)
Malleable (can be beaten into
Not malleable (brittle: break
different shapes with a Malleable
easily when hit)
hammer)
Not ductile (brittle: break
Ductile (can be drawn out into
Ductile easily when a pulling force is
wires)
applied)
Dull surface (Exceptions:
Lustrous (has a shiny surface
Lustrous graphite and iodine have shiny
when polished)
surface)
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Sonorous (makes a ringing
Not sonorous (make a dull
sound when hit with a hard Sonorous
sound when hit
objective)
Chemical Properties
➢ Some chemical properties can also be used to tell difference between metals and nonmetals.
➢ Chemical properties are to do with chemical reactions and energy changes during the
reactions.
➢ Some differences are-
• Many metal oxides are basic.
• Many non-metal oxides are acidic.
• Many metals react with acids.
• Most of non-metal do not react with acids.
• When they react, metal form electrical charge as positive ions by losing electrons.
• When they react with metals, non-metals form negative ions by gaining electrons.
(Exception: Hydrogen can form positive ions.)
➢ The last two of these points are the best chemical distinction between a metal and a nonmetal.

Alloy
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Solutions and Solubility

When you think about the word solution, what comes to mind? Many people
think about something liquid, like a saline solution, a mixture made of salt and
water. In chemistry, a solution is a homogenous (same throughout) mixture of
two or more substances in which the particles are very small (from 0 to 100
nanometers). The substances can be solids, liquids, or gases. Air is a solution
that includes dissolved water vapor in a mixture made up of oxygen, carbon
dioxide, nitrogen, and various other gases. Metal alloys such as sterling silver are
also solutions.
There are two parts to any solution. The substance that is dissolved is called the
solute. The solute is usually present in a smaller amount than the substance in
which it is dissolved. The solvent is the substance that does the dissolving and is
usually present in a greater amount.
The most common solvent is water. In solutions where water is the solvent, the
mixture formed is called an aqueous solution. In the following image, sugar is
the solute and water is the solvent. The sugarwater mixture is the solution.

Solubility
For now, we will focus on aqueous solutions. The concentration of a solution
refers to how much of the solute is dissolved in the liquid. Solubility is the
maximum amount of solute that will dissolve in a certain amount of water at a
given temperature. Take a look at the following solubilities graph. You can see
that as temperature increases, most solids increase in solubility. However, gases
decrease in solubility as temperature rises.
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Saturation
A true solution appears clear. If it has color, you can still see through it. If there
are undissolved particles, the solution will be cloudy. What happens when water
can no longer dissolve a certain substance? This is referred to as saturation. It is
the point at which a solution can dissolve no more of that substance, and any
additional amounts of it will appear as undissolved particles. There are three
degrees of saturation, as shown in the following table.
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Weak and Strong Solutions

Solutions can be described as dilute (weak) or concentrated (strong). Dilute
means that a small amount of solute is dissolved in the solvent. Concentrated
means that there is a lot of solute dissolved in the solvent.
The acidity, alkalinity, or neutrality of a solution is also described in terms of
strength. In a strong acid, nearly all of the acid molecules will form ions,
whereas in a weak acid only some of the molecules will form ions. The strength
of the solution is shown using a scale of numbers called the pH scale. The pH
numbers range from 0 to 14.
• Solutions with pH numbers less than 7 are acidic. Examples include
citrus juices. The lower the pH number, the stronger is the acid.
• Solutions with pH numbers greater than 7 are alkaline. An example is
milk. A substance with high alkalinity will have a higher pH number.
• A solution with a pH of exactly 7 is considered neutral. Water is
neutral.
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EXERCISE 4
Solutions and Solubility
Directions: Choose the best answer for each of the following items.
1. Which of the following is NOT an example of a solution?
A. water
B. gasoline
C. salt water
D. 14-karat gold
2. A dilute solution of lemon juice, with a pH of 1.5, would be classified as a
A. neutral.
B. weak acid.
C. strong acid.
D. weak alkali.
3. Connect the terms to the correct image and description. (Note: On the real
GED® test, you will click on the words you choose and “drag” each one into
position in the diagram.)
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Solvents, solutes and solutions Solvent
A solvent is a substance which dissolves another substance.
Water, ethanol and hexane are examples of solvents which are often used in
chemistry.
Solute
A solute is a substance which dissolves in a solvent.
Salt dissolves in water. So salt is a solute. Solutes can be solids, liquids or gases.
Solution
A solution is a mixture in which a solute is spread evenly throughout a solvent.

solute + solvent = solution

Aqueous solution

An aqueous solution is formed when a solute dissolves in water.

Saturated solution
A saturated solution contains the maximum concentration of a solute dissolved in a solvent
at a specified temperature.
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How do the solution?

When a solution is made, the solute particles are completely mixed up with the solvent
particles (Figure).
Every part of the solution has the same concentration of particles.
The substance has dissolved completely when we cannot see the solute any more.

Fig. In a solution, the solute and solvent particles are completely mixed up.

Solution concentration
dissolve a lot of salt in 100 cm3 of water, this solution is concentrated.
dissolve only a little salt in the same amount of water, this solution is dilute.
measure concentration in grams per decimetre cubed (written as g/dm3).
1 dm3 = 1000 cm3
can also measure concentration in moles per decimetre cubed (written as mol/dm3).
Moles are the unit used by scientists to measure ‘amount of substance’.
to calculate concentration in g/dm3:

Example:
Calculate the concentration of a solution of magnesium chloride containing 5 g of
magnesium chloride in 200 cm3 of water.
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SUMMARY QUESTIONS
1. Give the meaning of these terms:
a solution b anhydrous c insoluble d aqueous solution

2. Calculate the concentration in g/dm3 of a solution which contains 4 g of sodium

hydroxide in 125 cm3 of water.

Questions 124–126 refer to the following passage.

In a solution, two or more substances are joined in a homogeneous mixture
with generally uniform physical properties. In such a mixture, a solute is a
substance dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent
is the most plentiful substance in a solution. For example, when sugar is
dissolved in water, sugar is the solute and water is the solvent.
The ability of one substance to dissolve in another substance is called its
solubility. When a given amount of solvent contains as much solute as it
can hold, the solution is said to be saturated.
Various factors affect solubility, including temperature and pressure.
Solubility increases with rising temperature in solids, whereas gases are
usually more soluble at colder temperatures. For solids and liquids, the
pressure dependence of solubility is typically weak, whereas for gases,
solubility increases with pressure.
The following two questions contain a blank marked .
Beneath it is a set of choices. Indicate the choice that is correct and
belongs in the blank. (Note: On the real GED® test, the choices will
appear as a “dropdown” menu. When you click on a choice, it will appear
in the blank.)

124. Oxygen will be soluble in cold water than in hot water.

125. Atmospheric air is a homogeneous mixture of gases that is mostly
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nitrogen gas. Therefore, nitrogen in the atmosphere can be considered the

.
126. Which of the following would increase the solubility of nitrogen?
A. increasing the temperature
B. mixing it with an equal amount of oxygen
C. decreasing pressure
D. increasing pressure
130. Which of the following substances has a neutral pH?
A. lemon juice with a pH of 2
B. water with a pH of 7
C. soapy water with a pH of 12
D. milk with a pH of 6