Question

How can you show that air is a mixture?

Answer 1

Air is a Mixture because of the following reasons:

1. Air is a homogeneous mixture (same phase or face throughout it) of the gaseous substances nitrogen, oxygen, and smaller amounts of other substances.
2. Air is a mixture of different gases like nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon (1%), carbon dioxide (0.03%), and water vapour. The composition of these gases is not fixed at all places. For example, the proportion of carbon dioxide in cities is greater than that in rural areas because of their greater emissions of carbon dioxide. The amount of water vapour is greater in the rainy season than in the dry season as the rate of evaporation is less during the rainy season.
3. Air can be separated into its constituents such as oxygen, nitrogen, etc. by the technique of fractional distillation of liquid air.
4. Air shows the properties of all the gases present in it. For Example, Air supports combustion because of the oxygen present in the air.
5. Air has a variable composition because at different places different amounts of gases are present in the air.