Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Mixtures

What is Mixtures?

Some examples of mixtures include mixtures of sand and water, mixtures of sugar and salt, and mixtures of lime juice and water. There are two primary types of mixtures, namely homogeneous mixtures and heterogeneous mixtures.

Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Definition

What is a Homogeneous Mixture?

These are the types of mixtures in which the components mixed are uniformly distributed throughout the mixture. In other words, “they are uniform throughout”. We can observe only one phase of matter in a homogeneous mixture. Key points regarding such mixtures are:

Particles are distributed uniformly
We can’t judge a homogeneous mixture by just seeing it
Homogeneous mixtures are also called solutions
Uniform composition
Example: rainwater, vinegar, etc.

What is Heterogeneous Mixture?

This is a type of mixture in which all the components are completely mixed and all the particles can be seen under a microscope. We can easily identify the components and more than one phase can be seen by naked eyes.

Key points regarding this type of mixture:

Particles are distributed non uniformly
We can judge a heterogeneous mixture by just seeing it
Non-uniform composition
Example: seawater, pizza, etc.

Difference between Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Mixture

Homogeneous mixture	Heterogeneous mixture
It has a uniform composition	It has a non-uniform composition
It has only one phase	There are two or more phases
It can’t be separated out physically	It can be separated out physically
‘homo’ means the same	‘hetero’ means different
Example: a mixture of alcohol and water	Example: a mixture of sodium chloride and sand

Example

Soft drink: Homogeneous or Heterogeneous mixture?

In a homogeneous mixture, all the components are uniformly distributed and in the soft drink, we find components like sweetener, carbon dioxide and water forming a single phase. Therefore, a soft drink is a homogeneous mixture.