What is a homogeneous mixture?

A mixture in which we cannot see different components of the mixture and it

looks like one thing. For example, apple juice, chocolate milk, etc.
What is the other name of homogeneous mixture?
The other name of homogeneous mixture is “solution”.
How are solutions made?
Solutions are made by dissolving a small quantity of a matter (solute) into a
large quantity of another matter (solvent). In liquid solutions, the solvent is
liquid but the solute can be solid, liquid or gas.

What is the universal solvent?

Water is the most common solvent. It is called universal solvent.

What are the solvents in following solutions?

Solution solvent
1. Perfume ethanol
2. Paint turpentine
3. Nail polish ethyl acetate
4. Blood, urine, sweat, tears, saliva water

How is water cleaned before use in the homes?

Water is made clean for drinking in two ways:
1. Chlorine is added to water to kill bacteria.
2. Fluorine is added to keep our teeth healthy.

What is water cycle?

70% of earth surface is covered with water.
Water from rivers and oceans evaporates into air.
The water vapors in air condense to form clouds.
Water comes back to earth in the form of rain and snow.
How water absorbs different solutes?
Water travels throughout the earth in the form of rivers, oceans, streams,
rain and snow. Different solutes are absorbed in water as it flows through
ground, rocks and soil.

SOLID SOLUTIONS
What is the other name of solid solutions?
The other name of solid solutions is “alloy”. In solid solutions, both the
solvent and solute are solids. For example,
i. Brass is an alloy of Copper (solvent) and Zinc (solute)
ii. Bronze is an alloy of copper (solvent) and tin (solute)
iii. Yellow gold is an alloy of gold (solvent) and silver and copper
(solutes).

GAS SOLUTIONS
What is the most common gas solution?
Air is the most common gas solution. Nitrogen (78%) is the solvent and
oxygen (21%), argon (1%) and other gases are solutes. In gas solutions, both
the solvent and solute are in gas form.

In your own words, define solute and solvent.

Solute is the smaller part of solution that gets dissolved. For example, salt,
sugar etc.
Solvent is the larger part of solution that dissolves the solute. For
example, water.

Ocean water is a solution. It contains about 96% water, 4% salt and

very small amount of other salts and minerals.
a) What is the solvent in ocean water?
The solvent is water.
 b) What are the solutes?
The solutes are salt, other salts and minerals.

List one thing that is a solid solution, liquid solution and gas
solution and give the solute and solvent in each case.
a. A solid solution – 14 karat gold.
Solvent is gold, solute is silver and copper.
b. A liquid solution – ice tea.
Solvent is water, solute is tea and sugar.
c. A gas solution – air.
Solvent is Nitrogen and solute is oxygen, argon and other gases.

A sealed bottle of soda water contains carbon dioxide gas dissolved

in water, when you open the bottle, the gas bubbles out of the
solution.
a. What is the solvent in soda water? How do you know?
Solvent is water. I know this because the carbon dioxide is dissolved
into it.
b. What is the solute?
Solute is carbon dioxide gas.

How is water an important solvent in the body?

Water is an important solvent in the body because it dissolves different
solutes like salt, oxygen, sugars, minerals to make plasma, sweat, urine,
tears, saliva etc. This makes it possible for the solutes to travel in the body.
What is pollution?
Contaminants in the environment that can harm living things.
How can pollutants enter water?
Pollutants can enter water in many different ways like:
i. From sewage and household products
ii. From industrial waste
iii. Fertilizers and pesticides from farms
and lawns
iv. From mines.
How do solutes dissolve in a solvent according to particle theory?
Use a diagram to explain.
The attraction between solvent and solute particles is greater than the
attraction between solute particles. So, the force of attraction between
solute and solvent pulls the solute particles away from each other. The
movement of particles causes the solute particles to spread throughout the
solution.

What happens when particles of solute and solvent are not

attracted to each other?
When solute and solvent particles are not attracted to each other, the two
particles do not mix and the solute does not dissolve.

What happens when you try to dissolve sugar in 3 different

solvents: water, rubbing alcohol and oil?
- All the sugar was dissolved quickly in water.
- Some of the sugar was dissolved in rubbing alcohol but it took longer
than with water. Some sugar particles were left at the bottom of the
container.
- The sugar did not dissolve in oil at all. All the sugar particles were left
at the bottom of the container.
Which solute and solvent particles are most strongly attracted to
each other? How do you know?
Water and sugar particles are most strongly attracted to each other. I know
this because all the sugar was dissolved in water.
Which solute and solvent particles are not very strongly attracted to
each other? How do you know?
The rubbing alcohol and sugar particles are weakly attracted to each other. I
know it because I can see some sugar particles left undissolved at the
bottom of the container.
The oil and sugar particles are not attracted to each other at all. I know this
because I can see all the sugar left undissolved at the bottom of the
container.

Sundeep mixed 300 ml of water with 100ml of sugar. She says that
the total volume is 300 + 100 = 400ml. Do you agree with Sundeep?
Explain why or why not.
I don’t agree with Sundeep because according to the particle theory, there
are spaces between all particles. This means that there are empty spaces
between water particles (solvent) and sugar particles (solute). So when sugar
is added to water and mixed, the water particles fit in the spaces between
the sugar particles. sugar and water particles are attracted to each other and
they mix. That is why the total volume of the solution does not change much.
Define the term soluble and insoluble. Give one example of each.
Soluble means to get dissolved in a specific solvent. For example, salt is
soluble in water.
Insoluble means to be unable to dissolve in a specific solvent. For example,
sugar is insoluble in oil.

Solubility depends on the solvent and not the solute.

Drink crystals are a mixture of sugar, flavour particles and color
particles. The crystals dissolve in water.
a. What is the solute in this solution and what is the solvent?
The solute is drink crystals and solvent is water.
b. What happens to the different particles as the crystals dissolve
in water?
The drink crystal particles are pulled apart due to the force of
attraction between solute and solvent particles. The crystals spread
throughout the solution to make a drink.
Define concentration.
The concentration of a solution means the quantity of solute in a certain
volume of solution.
According to this definition, there are
two types of solutions: concentrated
solutions and dilute solutions.
Concentrated solution: A solution
which has a large amount of solute in a
given volume of solution.
Dilute solution: A solution that has a
small amount of solute in a given
volume of solution.

Calculating concentration:
Concentration = mass of solute in grams
100ml of solution

For example, 100ml of solution contains 5 grams of sugar. The concentration

of sugar in this solution is 5 grams/ 100ml.
Problem solving:
Suppose a solution has 6 grams of sugar in 200ml of solution. What
is the concentration of sugar in this solution?
Mass of sugar = 6 grams
Volume of solution = 200ml
Concentration of sugar = ?
Concentration = mass of solute in grams
100ml of solution
 = 6 grams
200ml

= 3 grams
100ml
So, the concentration of sugar is 3 gram/ 100ml.

Problem solving:
Calculate the concentration of a solution made by mixing 4.5 grams
of baking soda in 50ml of water.

You and your friend are making ice tea. Both of you have 500ml of water. You
add 2 spoonfuls of ice tea mix in your glass while your friend adds 7
spoonfuls of the mix. Whose solution is concentrated and whose solution is
dilute? How do you know?
My friend’s solution is concentrated and mine is dilute. I know this
because my friend’s tea is much darker than mine which means that
his drink has more solute.

Define saturated, unsaturated and supersaturated solution.

Saturated solution: A solution that contains the maximum amount of solute
and it cannot take any more solute at a given temperature.
Unsaturated solution: A solution which contains small amount of solute and
can take more solute at a given temperature.
Super-saturated solution: A solution that has more solute than normal at a
given temperature.

What is the difference between dilute, concentrated, and saturated

solution?

Define solubility.
Solubility means the exact amount of solute that can be dissolved in a
solvent at a given temperature to make a saturated solution.
Solubility = maximum mass of solute in grams
100 ml of
solvent at a given temperature
Different solutes have different solubilities. Solubility also changes due to
changes in different factors.
What is the important difference between how concentration and
solubility are measured?
Concentration is mass of solute in 100 ml of solution while solubility is mass
of solute in 100ml of solvent.

Which solute is more soluble: Solute Solubility in water

sugar or salt? at 20C
Salt 36 gram / 100ml of
Sugar is more soluble in water than
water
salt as 204 grams of sugar can be
Sugar 204 gram/ 100ml of
dissolved in water at room water
temperature while only 36 grams of
salt can be dissolved in 100ml of water at room temperature.
How are the terms solubility and saturated similar? How are they
different?
Solubility and saturated are similar because both mean the amount of solute
that can be dissolved in a solvent. They are different because solubility
means maximum mass of solute that can dissolve in 100ml of solvent while
saturated means a situation where no more solute can be dissolved. At
maximum solubility, the solution is saturated.

Kai has 200ml of water at room temperature. How much salt can she
dissolve in water?
36 grams of salt can be dissolved in 100 ml of water at room temperature. If
we double the volume of water to 200ml, the amount of salt that can be
dissolved will also be doubled, that is 72 grams.

One spoonful of drink crystals has a mass of about 4 grams.

Suppose you need 4 spoonful of crystals to make saturated solution.
Calculate the mass of crystals that dissolved in 100ml of water to
form a saturated solution.
One spoonful = 4 grams
Four spoonful = 4 x 4 = 16 grams
The mass of crystals needed to make a saturated solution is 16 grams.
If you had 200 ml of water, what would be the mass of crystals
needed to make a saturated solution?
100 ml of water + 16 grams of crystals = saturated solution
When the volume of water is doubled to 200ml, the mass of crystals is also
doubled to 32 grams. So 32 grams of crystals are needed to make saturated
solution in 200ml of water.

Separating Mechanical Mixtures

What are the different methods of separating mechanical mixtures?
1. Sorting: Th e simplest way of separating mechanical mixtures is by
sorting. Sorting means separating. In sorting, we simply separate the
similar looking components of the mechanical mixture and put them in
one place.
For example, we have a mixture of coloured beads and we use our
hands to separate the colours into different sections or places.
2. Floating and Settling: Some parts of a mixture may float or sink in
water. To use floating or settling, you add liquid to the mixture.
When one part of the mixture is floating, you can use a spoon to scoop
it out of the water.
When one part of the mixture sinks (settles) in the water, you can wait
until all of it is at the bottom of the container and then pour off the
liquid.
3. Using a Magnet: Some metals are attracted to magnets. Things like
plastic and glass are not attracted to magnets. You can separate a
mixture by using a magnet to pull out the things that are magnetic. If
there are additional parts to the mixture you could then use other
methods such as sorting to separate the rest of the mixture.
4. Using Sieves and Filters: A sieve is a device that has holes so that
smaller particles and liquids can pass through the holes, but larger
particles get left in the sieve. The process of separating a mechanical
mixture using a sieve is called sieving.
A filter is a device with many small holes. The holes in a filter are
usually too small to see, so any solid pieces become trapped and
cannot pass through.
5. Dissolving Soluble Components: You can also separate components
of a mechanical mixture by dissolving. For example, if you have sand
and salt, you can add water to the mixture. The salt will dissolve in the
water and the sand will settle to the bottom of the container. Once the
 sand has settled you can pour out the salt water. This will separate the
sand and the salt.
Describe one way to separate each of the following mechanical
mixtures.
a) Metals in a scrap yard: by using a magnet
b) Salt and sand: by dissolving
c) Sand and gravel: sieving
d) Sand and water filtering

Some air purification systems use filters. How do air filters make the
air healthier for people to breathe?
The filters allow the clean air to pass through them. The filter will trap tiny
solid particles that are in the air.
What is the difference between a filter and a sieve?
A sieve is a device with many visible holes in it that can be used to separate
the components of a solid or liquid mixture. The smaller pieces in the mixture
fall through the holes, while the bigger pieces stay on top. An example of a
household sieve is a colander.
A filter is a device, with many small holes that can be used to remove tiny
pieces of solids from a liquid or a gas. The holes in a filter are usually too
small to see, so any solid pieces become trapped and cannot pass through.
For example a coffee filter.

Mix 1 large spoonful of salt and 1 large spoonful of pepper/sand in a

cup. Examine the mixture. Think about how you could separate this
mixture?
I can separate the components of this mixture by using dissolving method.
Add warm water to the salt-and-pepper mixture. Stir for 30 seconds.
Does the pepper/sand dissolve in water? How can you tell?
The pepper/sand does not dissolve in water. I know this because after I
stirred the mixture of water, salt, and pepper for 30 seconds, I could no
longer see the salt particles but I could still see all of the pepper/sand
particles. Some of the pepper/sand floats on the water, some of it sinks to
the bottom of the glass, but none of it disappears.
Pour the mixture of water, salt and pepper/sand slowly through the
coffee filter. What parts pass through the filter and what parts does
the filter catch?
The water and salt (dissolved in water) pass through the filter. The filter
catches the pepper/sand.
Suggest what you could do next to separate the parts of the salt-
and-water solution?
I could let the water evaporate by heating the mixture. This means the water
particles would disappear into the air and I would be left with the salt
particles in the glass.

What method of separation of mixture was used by miners during

Gold Rush era?
The miners used the method of floating and settling. They would grind up the
rocks or pick sand from river beds and swirl the mixture in a pan full of water.
Since gold is heavier than sand, so it sank to the bottom of the pan while
sand was washed away.
Where is the method of settling used on a large scale?
The technique of settling is used on a large scale to treat water waste in
waste treatment facilities.
What are complex mixtures? Give an example.
Some mixtures are complex. This means that they are mechanical mixtures
that include solutions. Blood, for example, is a complex mixture. Blood
contains a solution of water with dissolved nutrients (called plasma) and red
blood cells. However, the blood cells are very small and can only be seen
with a microscope.

How different components of blood can be separated?

If a blood sample is taken from a patient and left for several hours, the blood
cells gradually sink to the bottom of the container. This leaves the clear,
yellowish plasma solution at the top. The solution can then be poured off ,
separate from the blood cells.
Blood components can also be separated by using a centrifuge. A centrifuge
machine spins so quickly that the heavy components sink to the bottom.
Different spinning times are used to separate different parts.

Why is it important to separate blood into its components?

This ability to separate blood into its different components has important
applications. People who require blood transfusions may need only one
component of blood and not the others. For example, a patient may need a
transfusion of only red blood cells, or only the plasma component of blood
due to their particular illness or injury.
What is a centrifuge?
A centrifuge is an equipment that holds test tubes containing mixtures to be
separated. The centrifuge spins the test tubes around very quickly to make
the heavier components sink rapidly to the bottom of the tubes. Centrifuges
are used in many labs to separate mechanical mixtures.

What is sewage?
The mixture of water and waste that is flushed down toilets and sink drains is
sewage.
How and why is sewage treated?
All sewage travels through drains and pipes until it gets to a sewage
treatment plant. At the sewage treatment plant the sewage goes through
three (3) stages of treatment.
Sewage is treated to i) remove solids, ii) break down material, and iii) kill
disease causing organisms.

Briefly outline the main steps of sewage treatment process?

Primary Treatment:
Solid objects are removed through a sieving process. Floating and settling is
then used to remove more solid objects. The solid objects are removed,
treated and used as fertilizer, burned or sent to landfill.

Secondary Treatment:
After primary treatment, the dirty water passes through tanks that use
bacteria to break down human waste and plant material. Bacteria then settle
down with water at the bottom and then removed.

Tertiary Treatment:
Pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus are removed using filters and
ultraviolet radiation. Chlorine is also added. After tertiary treatment, water is
clean enough to be returned to ocean, lake or river.

List some ways in which pollutants can enter water?

Pollutants can enter water in many different ways like:
a) From sewage and household products
b) From industrial waste
c) Fertilizers and pesticides from farms and lawns
d) From mines.

Why is it difficult to separate oil and water once they are mixed?
With oil and water, you cannot separate them using the methods we have
talked about for separating mixtures, such as sieving or dissolving. The oil
will float on top of the water and the particles will not mix together. This
makes it challenging to separate them.

Give at least one example of how oil s[ills can endanger wildlife?
Oil spills can endanger wildlife because the pollutants can destroy the
habitats. The pollutants in the water will poison the water that fish and other
marine life need to breathe, the pollutants can kill off food sources, and the
oil can stick to the animals which makes it difficult for them to perform their
regular life functions such as breathing or staying warm.

Take some water in a container. Pour a small amount of oil on the water. Keep
pouring until about half the water is covered with a thin layer of oil. Now use
following methods to clean the oil layer:
Use the cotton balls or paper towels to soak up the oil.
• Use the medicine dropper to suck up oil.
• Use the straws to move the oil to one corner.
• Add drops of detergent to the oil.
A. Which method was the most successful? Why?
The detergent method is most successful because

B. Do you think this method could be used to clean up a real oil spill? Explain
your answer.
No, this method cannot be used to clean up a real oil spill because it is
practically impossible to add detergent to the whole ocean, lake or river.
C. Research ways of cleaning up an oil spill on the ocean.