Mixture vs. Compound: What's the Difference?
Read the comparison below, or explore it visually. Create a visual lesson comparing mixture and compound using available credits or plan allowance.
A compound is made of elements chemically joined in a fixed ratio by mass, while a mixture contains substances that are physically mingled in any proportion without bonding. Because of this, a compound has new properties unlike its elements and can be split only by chemical reactions, whereas each part of a mixture keeps its own properties and can be separated by physical methods.
At a glance
| Mixture | Compound | |
|---|---|---|
| Composition | Variable; parts can be in any proportion | Fixed ratio of elements by mass |
| Bonding | No chemical bonds between components | Elements held by chemical bonds |
| Properties | Each component keeps its own properties | New properties unlike its elements |
| Separation | Physical methods: filtering, distilling, magnet | Only by chemical reactions or electrolysis |
| Examples | Air, salt water, soil, alloys | Water, carbon dioxide, table salt |
Which should you use?
Call it a mixture when the parts can be separated physically and their amounts can vary, such as iron filings stirred into sulfur powder, which a magnet can pull apart.
Call it a compound when elements have reacted to form a new substance, such as iron sulfide made by heating iron and sulfur together, which a magnet can no longer separate.