Mixture and a compound - Essay Example

Explanation following electrons transfer between the donor and receptor atoms that form cations and anions is also given. Documentation of covalent bonds, their formation details and types, polar and non polar, covalent bonds are briefly mentioned with some examples given. It also expresses how covalent bonds form between atoms of a molecule in a single and from different elements. Keywords: Mixtures, Compound, Element, Substance, Cation, Anion, Atoms, Molecules, Bonding, Covalent Bonds, Ionic Bond, Shared Electrons, Electron, Properties A mixture is a matter of impure substances made of either two or more homogenous pure substances (compounds or elements), brought together physically (Syamal, 2007).

The components inside a mixture at a single moment vary relatively; hence, they are not fixed. The key properties of mixtures are that they don’t have fixed properties and that no new substance is formed in the combination; reason being that their property is dependent on combination fraction and nature of the constituents where properties of constituents are similar to those of the mixture. Just as it is formed, its constituents can also be split by physical methods like sedimentation, decantation, distillation and chromatography among others.

On the contrary, compounds are pure substances, consisting of two or more components, just like mixtures, but chemically merged together to create a new substance with different properties from its constituents. At any single moment the components of a compound exist in fixed ratios. They have fixed properties without having to rely on constituents’ properties. Its constituents can be split through chemical reactions and not physical methods. Components of a compound are held together by strong covalent bonds unlike in mixtures, whose components are held loosely by weak forces.

Elements and compounds are pure substances, but unlike compounds, elements cannot be split further. According to Stoker ( 2012, p.16) “a pure substance can be classified as either an element or a compound on the basis of whether it can be broken down into two or more simpler substances by chemical means.” In the event where compounds are heated or broken down, it produces simpler substances that had been used to create it. An element consists of atoms of a homogeneous type that are kept close together by bonds.

There exist a hundred and seventeen recognized elements where less than thirty of them, have been developed in the laboratory by bombard smaller units with naturally occurring elements. However, they are radioactive and can easily revert back into their natural existing elements. When a pure substance is broken down, and there exist presence of hetero-atomic molecules, then the substance is a compound since the atoms are different indicating presence of different elements. Elements contain mono-atomic molecules.

In chemistry, litmus papers have been used to test the presence of acids and bases which are compounds. While reviewing a sample, qualitative analysis reveals whether it is an element or a compound present in the sample. Examples are electrophoresis used in DNA pattern identification, chemical tests and X Ray Crystallography. Ionic bonds forms mostly between metals and non metals (cations that are positively charged and anions that hold a negative charge). Metals will always react to loose free electrons in the outer shell while non metals gain them.

These types of bonds are very