Mixtures involve which type of change?

• A. Chemical
• B. Physical
• C. Nuclear
• D. Electrical

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that mixtures involve a physical change. When substances are mixed to form a mixture, they don’t react to form new substances; they simply combine while retaining their own identities. Because of that, you can usually separate the components again using physical methods like filtration, evaporation, distillation, or magnets. For instance, dissolving salt in water creates a solution that can be separated by evaporating the water, and mixing sand with iron filings can be separated with a magnet. In contrast, a chemical change would produce new substances with different properties (like iron rusting or wood burning), which isn’t what happens when forming a simple mixture. Nuclear or electrical changes aren’t typical descriptions of forming everyday mixtures.