Mixture a Compound Mixture and a Compound

¶ … Mixture a Compound Mixture and a Compound Three main terms are usually used in the field of chemistry. These are element, compound and a mixture. These three will be the element of key discussion in the paper. There is a great difference between a mixture and a compound. A compound is formed from two elements that combine together chemically by sharing electrons. The physical and chemical properties of the constituent elements are different in the beginning in their individual states from the physical and chemical properties of the final compound.

Thereby the final chemical as well as physical properties of the compound are determined by the elements. On the other hand, a mixture may have many constituent compounds, or elements that are mixed (Bettelheim, Brown, Campbell, and Farrell, 2008, p. 45). The constituent elements of the compound cannot be separated physically but in the case of mixture, the constituents can be easily separated. Thus a compound is pure as compared to a mixture.

In the case of compounds, it can be said that they have fixed properties as compared to that of mixtures. On the other hand, in the case of mixtures, it is observed that these do not have any fixed properties. The properties of the mixtures are more dependent on the nature of its constituents. When the constituents of the mixtures are mixed together, physical or chemical properties of the substance are not changed.

Mixtures are formed when two or more substances are combined together, not necessarily in a chemical manner (Stoker, 2012, p. 12). Thus there are two main kinds of mixtures, ones that are homogenous and others, the heterogeneous ones. Homogenous mixtures are those in which the spreading of particles in the mixture is even, as in the case of milk. Heterogeneous mixtures can be easily identified as being mixed as the mixture of sand and salt. Pure substances are when the substances are chemically combined together.

These can be further divided into compounds that are made up of elements as water, and elements that are basic substances as gold (Joesten, Hogg, and Castellion, 2006, p. 44). The formation of a compound takes place when a chemical bond is formed between one or two atoms. These bonds are known to link the two atoms together. The two main kinds of bonds are ionic bond and a covalent bond. Ions that are opposite in charge are the main constituents of the ionic bonds.

The attraction between these opposite charges constitutes the ionic bonds. One of the most important examples in these cases is that of sodium chloride that forms by an attraction between positively charged sodium ions and negatively charged chloride ions (Moore, Stanitski, and Jurs, 2009, p. 78). In the case of a covalent bond, binding of the atoms is because of the shared electrons. Two kinds of covalent bonds are known, non-polar covalent bonds and the polar covalent bonds.

When sharing of electrons is equal between the atoms, it is termed as non-polar covalent bond. In case when the electrons are attracted more by one atom than the other, it is termed as a polar covalent bond. From here it can be seen that the ionic bonds are formed when electrons are transferred to the other atoms, rather being shared. The intermolecular forces in the ionic compounds are very strong and these forces tend to make the ionic compounds have solid forms.

In the case of covalent bonding, the atoms share electrons (Bettelheim, Brown, Campbell, Farrell, and Torres, 2012, p. 65). More than a hundred elements are found in the periodic table. But the substances that exist in the world that surrounds the human beings sum up to more than thousand. This is because of the reason that the elements and the atoms in the periodic table can react with each other to form newer substances.

Metals are usually found on the right side of the periodic table and metals are of higher electropositive nature. Metals have oxidation states in positive as in the case of iron (Fe) it is +3, while in the case of nonmetals, the oxidation states are in negative, as chloride (Cl) has -1. Being electropositive means that the metals have the capacity to lose electrons in a faster manner. On the other hand, nonmetals are on the right hand side of the periodic table and these are of strong electronegative nature.

Electronegative elements have the capacity of readily accepting the electrons. When an electron is lost by metals, they attain a positive charge. When the nonmetals gain an electron they become negatively charged. It is the role of the electrostatic forces that confer strong attraction between these positive and negatively charged ions. Thereby these are the electrostatic forces that are responsible for the formation of the ionic compounds. As compared to the ionic compounds, the covalent compounds occur in their true forms.

As the electrons in the covalent compounds are shared, thereby there is no formation of the ionic charges. Thereby no strong attraction can be seen between the covalent molecules. Thereby usually it is seen that the covalent molecules move around freely and these compounds have an increased tendency to exist in the form of liquids or gases at room temperatures (Seager, and Slabaugh, 2010, p. 89). The kind of bond formed between the two atoms is determined by the level of attraction that the shared pairs of electrons have for each other.

Electronegativity is the measure of attraction that the pairs of electrons have. The elements on the right side of the periodic table are nonmetals and these are highly electronegative. Thereby if atoms or elements from the right side bond with each other, because of having same electronegativity, electrons will be shared in an equal manner, forming a non-polar covalent bond. Cl2, Br2 and N2 are some of the most important examples of diatomic molecules.

Both of the atoms in these cases have the same amount of attraction for electrons; thereby a covalent bond is formed. Another important question is why would the same kinds of atoms bond together to form compounds. The reason lies in the need of an increased stability (Miller, Vandome, and McBrewster, 2009, p. 55). Stability, on the other hand, depends on the number of electrons in the outermost shells of these atoms.

These atoms are the most stable when the outermost shells are filled and this filling is only possible when electrons are mutually shared between same kinds of atoms in the compound. Covalent bonds are formed between the atoms based on the fact that the atoms have the same tendency to share electrons (Kotz, Treichel, and Townsend, 2009, p. 34). Conclusion The paper has mentioned the main differences.