Types of Pure Substances

This video explains about the different types of pure substances. A pure substance is made up of only one type of matter and has consistent properties throughout. Pure substances are classified as either compounds or elements and mixtures as either heterogeneous mixtures or homogeneous mixtures. An element is a pure substance that cannot be broken down any further. Copper discussed above is an example of an element. We will discuss elements in further detail in the next section. A compound is a pure substance that can be broken down into elements. For example, water (H_2O) is a pure substance. It has consistent properties, but can be broken down into the elements Oxygen and Hydrogen. The difference between a heterogeneous mixture and a homogeneous mixture is the ability to separate the various components of the mixture into pure substances. A heterogeneous mixture can be separated into pure substances, while a homogeneous mixture cannot be separated. Homogeneous mixtures are also uniform throughout. In a heterogeneous mixture you can often distinguish between the different components in the mixture.