It would be much easier for brass to be sorted into zinc and copper than for water to be divided into hydrogen and oxygen.įurther, mixtures can actually be made of compounds, while compounds cannot be made of mixtures.Įssentially, it’s not possible for brass to be a compound because: While mixtures can be separated easily, a compound must be entirely destroyed in order to be broken into its smaller parts. The percentage of zinc can be extremely low or high compared to the percentage of copper, but as long as the two are combined, they would still combine to create brass.Īdditionally, there’s another key difference between mixtures and compounds. īrass, therefore, cannot be qualified as a compound. Brass, on the other hand, can exist even with large variations in its percentages of zinc and coppe r.
Hydrogen Peroxide, as another example of a compound, consists of precisely 94.07% oxygen and 5.93% hydrogen.īoth water and hydrogen peroxide are made up of hydrogen and oxygen, but the specific percentages in each make them entirely different substances. The Bodner Research Lab at Purdue University explains that water, for example, is a compound because it is always made of exactly 88.8% oxygen and 11.2% hydrogen. Compounds, however, are made of elements that are chemically combined, while mixtures are put together physically.įurther, compounds must have an equal percentage of both elements in order to exist. Similarly to mixtures, compounds are made up of more than one element blended together. Watch Hank Green’s Crash Course on The Periodic Table if you are interested in learning more about elements and The Periodic Table: To watch zinc and copper combine to make brass, check out this fascinating video: Therefore, because brass is not a standalone substance, it cannot be considered an element. Some examples of metal elements, other than copper and zinc, are:īecause mixtures are made up of multiple elements combined, they can be broken down into smaller parts, unlike elements.īrass, when broken down, divides into zinc and copper. Brass is just one example of what can occur when two or more elements are mixed together. There are only 100 elements, but they can be combined to make nearly limitless amounts of unique compounds and mixtures that make up our everyday world. Elements consist of their own individual atoms, causing all elements to be entirely unique. Elements Are Their Own SubstancesĪccording to a report on elements published by The University of Illinois, “ elements are pure substances ,” meaning they are not made from any other type of substance. The category a metal, such as brass, fits in depends on many factors, such as what substances the metal is made of, and whether the percentage of the substances within it can be varied.
For instance, gold is an element, while pyrite, also known as fool’s gold, is a compound. To understand what places brass in this particular group, it’s important to know the difference between an element, a compound, and a mixture.Įven metals that may seem similar, such as brass and copper, can vary greatly when it comes to which classification they belong to. Simply put, chemists classify a mixture as something that occurs when two elements come together to make something else. But what makes this economical choice a mixture instead of anything else? What Makes Brass a Mixture?īrass’s categorization as a mixture matters because it’s the main reason brass is an inexpensive alternative to similar, but much pricier metals, such as copper or gold. I’ll also delve into how brass differs from other similar metal mixtures. The rest of this article will dig deeper into what makes brass a mixture as opposed to an element or a compound, by exploring the differences and similarities between the three categories. Because brass does not fit the qualifications for a compound or element, the metal is a mixture. In this case, copper and zinc come together to make brass. Mixtures occur when two metals combine to make a third metal.
Brass, specifically, is often confused for copper or bronze, making this particular metal even more confusing to decipher.īrass is a mixture made of copper and zinc.
With a plethora of metals existing in all three categories, it can be difficult to keep track of whether a metal is a compound, element, or mixture.
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