The key difference between compound and mixture is that the compound contains two or more components bound to each other by chemical means whereas the mixture contains two or more components bound to each other by physical means.
A compound and a mixture, both contain two or more components. Nevertheless, these two chemical species differ from each other according to the way that the components mix and the way that we can separate the components mainly. Moreover, compounds are often pure substances while mixtures are impure substances.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Compound
3. What is a Mixture
4. Side by Side Comparison – Compound vs Mixture in Tabular Form
5. Summary
What is a Compound?
A chemical compound is a pure material that consists of a combination of two or more chemical elements that bind to each other through chemical procedures. Unlike an element, which is quite basic and simple because it consists of only an atom and electrons, a chemical compound is more complex. Therefore, the chemical formula is the way that we describe this complexity of the compound that contains two or more atoms.
Figure 01: Pure Water is a Chemical Compound
There are different kinds of chemical bonds that can create a compound: ionic bonds, which forms salts, covalent bonds, which forms molecular compounds and metallic bonds, which forms inter-metallic compounds. Depending on the temperature that we use to form them, chemical compounds can take the form of solids, liquids or gases. Some examples of commonplace compounds are table salt and water.
What is a Mixture?
A mixture is an impure substance that consists of two or more components. Unlike a compound, a mixture does not contain a constant composition; furthermore, we can create or separate these mixtures via physically. Hence it does not require chemical processes. Therefore, the identity of each substance in a mixture retains and does not alter.
Figure 02: Dishwashing Liquid is a Mixture
Furthermore, there are two types of mixtures. They are; homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures. And also, we can classify these mixtures as either one of the following: alloy (a solid combination of one or more elements), suspension (a fluid containing tiny solid bits) or colloids. Examples of some common mixtures in the household include milk and dishwashing liquid.
What is the Difference Between Compound and Mixture?
A chemical compound is a pure material that consists of a combination of two or more chemical elements whereas a mixture is an impure substance that consists of two or more components. Therefore, the key difference between compound and mixture is that a compound contains two or more components bound to each other by chemical means whereas a mixture contains two or more components bound to each other by physical means. Another important difference between compound and mixture is that, unlike compounds, we can separate the mixtures easily and they segregate into their individual substances. When dividing compounds, we need a lot of energy to execute certain chemical processes, while in mixtures one only has to be able to determine how to physically separate them in terms of their density, solubility and size.
The below infographic shows more details on the difference between compound and mixture.
Summary – Compound vs Mixture
Although quite synonymous, a compound (pure substance) and mixture (impure substance) are different in terms of the composition or separation. Hence, the key difference between compound and mixture is that a compound contains two or more components bound to each other by chemical means. Whereas a mixture contains two or more components bound to each other by physical means. It is also interesting to note that how common they are in our everyday lives. As it turns out, there are many compounds and mixtures that we consume and use as food, cleaning tools and others.