ELEMENTS, COMPOUNDS, AND MIXTURES (Page 66)
Please identify the following substances as to whether they are elements, compounds, or
mixtures. Remember that an element is made up of only one kind of atom. A compound
consists of two or more elements that have been chemically bonded and therefore no longer
have the elements’ original properties, but rather brand new properties. A mixture is a
combination of two or more kinds of elements or compounds, but NOT chemically bonded. Each
ingredient in a mixture keeps its own properties, so that chocolate milk, for example has the
properties of chocolate and the properties of milk.
Oxygen Gas
Carbon Dioxide
Gold
Air
Water
Salt
Salt Water
Vinegar
Mercury
Helium
Nitrous
Steel
Protein
Sugar
Iced Tea
Baking Soda
Lemonade
Sulfuric Acid
Copper
Copper Sulfate
A Penny
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
The steps:
1) Can you find the substance on the periodic table? Then it's an element.
2) If the substance is not on the periodic table, ask yourself if you can split it up into smaller
parts.
3) If you can't or if the substances are different from the substances it is made of, then it's a
compound.
4) If the substance is similar to the substances that it's made of, then it is a mixture.
5) Remember the two tricky cases:
a. Metals that are not on the periodic table, like bronze and brass are alloys, which
are a kind of mixture.
b. When you dissolve one substance into another, that is called a solution, which is
another kind of mixture.
6) Also, it helps to ask yourself if you can think of a chemical formula for the substance. If
you can, then it is a compound.