In chemistry, Matter, a solid, liquid, or gas, can be classified into many more different categories that help scientist learn more about that substance.
Pure Substances
In chemistry, there are many different types of classifications for mixtures.
There are Elements - One of the 118 different chemical substances discovered.
There are Compounds - Different elements bonded together to help fill their energy level.
Both elements and compounds can be classified as Pure Substances, meaning they cannot be decomposed chemically since they are already at their base level.
Mixtures
Unlike pure substances, which cannot be broken down chemically any further, mixtures can be separated.
There are 2 types of mixtures: Homogeneous and Heterogeneous.
Homogeneous Mixtures are mixtures that are in a uniform composition. This means that they are a solution and something has dissolved in them. The substance that does the dissolving is called the solvent and the substance that is being dissolved is called the solute.
Heterogeneous Mixtures are mixtures that are not in a uniform composition. This means that they can be separated physically by hand. The two key components of heterogeneous mixtures are colloids and suspensions. These terms are not as important as the other terms, but they are worth going over. Colloids are substances that are spread atomically throughout another substance. Colloids have three forms:
Colloids can be evenly spread throughout the substance. - Stable Colloid
Colloids can be stuck toward each other. This process is called Aggregation. - Unstable Colloid.
Colloids gather at the bottom of the substance, This is called Sedimentation. - Unstable Colloid.
The second main component to heterogeneous mixtures is called suspensions. A suspension is when insoluble particles are suspended on a liquid or gas. An example can be seen in the following picture:
With these concepts and vocabulary in mind, you can easily understand how scientists are able to classify different substances.
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