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Liam explores the decomposition of water. He attaches a battery to the ends of two pencils sharpened at both ends, and places the other ends of the pencils in a beaker of water. His set up is shown below.

image

Classify the parts of Liam's set up listed below as mixtures or pure substances.

mixture


pure substance


the battery


H2O


O2


H2


O2 and H2 bubbling in H2O


a pencil

1 answer

Let's classify the components of Liam's setup into "mixtures" and "pure substances":

Mixture:

  • O2 and H2 bubbling in H2O (the gases produced are mixed with water)

Pure Substance:

  • the battery (assuming it contains electrolytes, it can be considered a mixture but it is commonly treated as a pure substance)
  • H2O (water)
  • O2 (oxygen gas)
  • H2 (hydrogen gas)
  • a pencil (the pencil is composed of wood and graphite, which are mixtures of different compounds)

In summary:

  • Mixtures: O2 and H2 bubbling in H2O, a pencil
  • Pure Substances: the battery, H2O, O2, H2

If we consider the battery as a mixture due to its composition, then it would be classified as such.