Unit 10A: Objective 3 Activity

Vaughan Merrick 5/7/11
Block 8 Objective 3 Activity
Suspensions: Mixtures from which particles settle out upon standing. Suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures and can be removed by filtration because of the large size of the component particles. The average diameter of the component particles in a suspension is 100 nm.
Examples: Clay in water, sand in water and droplets of oil in air.

Colloids: Heterogeneous mixtures containing particles that are intermediate in size between those of suspensions and true solutions. The particles range in size from 1 to 100 nm. Colloids can appear in the states of gas, liquid or solid. The particles cannot be retained by filtration and do not settle out with time.
Examples: Glue, gelatin desserts, paint, aerosol sprays, and smoke.

Solutions: Homogenous mixtures that are completely uniform in composition. You are not able to tell the difference between the different compounds
Examples: Sugar in water, sodium chloride in water, carbon dioxide and oxygen in nitrogen (air).

How they differ: The component particles of a suspension and a colloid differ in size. The average size of a suspension particle is 100 nm, the size of colloid particle can be between 1 nm and 100 nm, and solution particles are about 1 nm. Also, colloids and suspensions are heterogeneous mixtures while solutions are homogenous. Lastly, using filtration, you could separate the particles in a suspension, but not in a colloid or a solution. The large size of suspensions allows this to occur.