An element is a pure substance that is made from a single type of atom. An element is made up of only one kind of atom. An element cannot be broken down by physical or chemical means and the element has its own definite melting and boiling point.  Further, we will learn about two types of mixtures i.e Homogeneous and Heterogeneous mixtures. We will learn about this by performing various experiments. We will also understand how we can separate the components of the mixture through the evaporation process.

An element is a substance made up of identical atoms. When two or more elements are combined in a fixed proportion, a compound is formed, while a mixture contains two or more pure substances like element and compound, combined in any proportion.  The components of a compound cannot be separated by physical means but by chemical means. 

In this virtual tour, we will learn about the types of mixture. The mixture is classified by two terms, homogeneous and heterogeneous.  In heterogeneous mixtures, the components do not have the same properties or characteristics throughout whereas a homogeneous mixture is a mixture in which the composition is uniform throughout the mixture.

A solution is a homogeneous mixture of two or more substances. A solution is a special type of homogeneous mixture composed of two or more substances. In such a mixture, a solute is a substance dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solution of the homogeneous mixture does not scatter light through them as they are very small. We will understand this through an experiment as well.

In this virtual tour, we will learn about another type of mixture called suspension. A suspension is a heterogeneous mixture that contains solid particles sufficiently large for sedimentation. The particles are visible to the naked eye. The solute particles in suspension do not dissolve but remain suspended throughout the medium.

In colloidal mixtures, the particles are not visible through human eyes but are big enough to scatter the ray of light. These are also known as colloidal dispersions because the substances remain dispersed and do not settle to the bottom of the container.

In this virtual tour activity, we will perform an experiment on ink powder and water from the ink. We can separate the solvent from its solute by the method of evaporation. Also, using this method we can separate salt from water, and sugar from water.

We will do another experiment and will learn how we can separate the mixture of kerosene oil and water using a simple funnel with a stopcock because the density of kerosene oil and water are different. This method of separation is based on the difference in the densities of two immiscible liquids like kerosene oil and water. The liquid with the lower density floats on.

The fractional distillation process is used to separate the complex mixture into fractions that contain different boiling points and properties. When the boiling point of two liquids is different we can separate the mixture of such two liquids even if they are miscible, using a fractional distillation process.