What Are Some Examples of Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Mixtures?

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Corn oil and white vinegar are homogeneous mixtures, but when mixed together in making salad dressing, they form a heterogeneous mixture. In this resulting mixture, both components can be seen — vinegar as the bottom layer and oil floating on top.

All matter can be described as either a pure substance or a mixture. A mixture is any substance that consists of two or more components, and it can be either homogeneous or heterogeneous.

Homogeneous mixtures contain two or more components that cannot be visually distinguished or separated into the individual components.

Examples of homogeneous mixtures include:

  • Salty water — a mixture of salt and water
  • Ruby — a mixture of Al2O3 and Cr2O3
  • Gasoline — a mixture of various hydrocarbons
  • Brass — a mixture of Cu and Zn
  • Air without clouds — a mixture of various gases

Heterogeneous mixtures contain two or more components that can be seen, which can be separated into the individual components by physical means.

Examples of heterogeneous mixtures include:

  • Beach sand — a mixture of different colors of sand and other particles
  • Granite rock — a mixture of various types of minerals that can be seen as different
  • Air with clouds — mixture of air and water molecules in the clouds