Musical instruments like trumpets and trombones are made from an alloy called brass. Brass is composed of copper and zinc atoms and appears homogeneous under an optical microscope. The approximate composition of most brass objects is a 2:1 ratio of copper to zinc atoms, but the exact ratio varies somewhat from one piece of brass to another. (a) Would you classify brass as an element, a compound, a homogeneous mixture, or a heterogeneous mixture?

Video transcript

Hi everyone today. We have a question telling us that white gold is used to make jewelry is made of 75% gold and 25% nickel and zinc identify its classification from the following. A. An element be a compound C. A homogenous mixture, or D. A. Heterogeneous mixture. So let's remember our definitions here. An element is an atom, one kind of atom that cannot be broken down. A compound is two or more atoms that can be broken down. Homogeneous mixture is a mixture that is the same throughout, and a heterogeneous mixture is a mixture that is different throughout, so everything's not mixing completely. So An element cannot be broken down. This is made of 75% gold and 25% nickel and zinc. That's not one atom. So we can mark that out. A compound is two or more atoms that can be broken down. This is two or more atoms, but it is an alloy. So because it is an alloy, it is a homogenous mixture and that is our answer. Thank you for watching. Bye.