Clarifying compounds and mixtures

Many students under 16 struggle to distinguish between mixtures and compounds, or to appreciate the properties of a compound can be vastly different from that of a mixture. Some regard any diagram containing different symbols for atoms, whatever their location, as representations of mixtures.

Therefore, when introducing the concept of a compound, memorable demonstrations that clearly show the formation of a compound are useful. This demonstration shows a compound and a mixture of its component elements with visibly different properties.