Lesson Objectives

 Describe the properties of a suspension.

 Describe the properties of a colloid and distinguish from a solution or a

suspension.

Lesson Vocabulary
 colloid

 emulsion

 suspension

 Tyndall effect

Recalling Prior Knowledge

 What are the identifying characteristics of a heterogeneous mixture?

 What prevents oil and water from being miscible?

Suspensions
Take a glass of water and throw in a handful of sand or dirt. Stir it and stir it and stir it.

What happened to your mixture?

Have you made a solution?

A suspension is a
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Colloids
A colloid is a
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 Properties of Solutions, Colloids, and Suspensions

Solutions Colloids Suspensions

Homogeneous Heterogeneous Heterogeneous

Particle size: 0.01-1 Particle size: 1-1000 nm, Particle size: over 1000
nm; atoms, ions, or dispersed; large nm, suspended; large
molecules molecules or aggregates particles or aggregates

Do not separate on Do not separate on

Particles settle out
standing standing

Cannot be separated Cannot be separated by Can be separated by

by filtration filtration filtration

Scatter light (Tyndall May either scatter light or

Do not scatter light
effect) be opaque

Tyndall Effect
The Tyndall effect is
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Examples of Suspensions

Examples of Colloids
Listed below (Table below) are examples of colloidal systems, most of which are very
familiar. Some of these are shown below (Figure below). The dispersed phase
describes the particles, while the dispersion medium is the material in which the
particles are distributed.

Classes of Colloids

Class of Dispersed Dispersion

Examples
Colloid Phase Medium

paint, jellies, blood,

Sol and gel solid liquid
gelatin, mud

Solid aerosol solid gas smoke, dust in air

Solid
liquid solid cheese, butter
emulsion

Liquid
liquid liquid milk, mayonnaise
emulsion

Liquid fog, mist, clouds,

liquid gas
aerosol aerosol spray

Foam gas solid marshmallow

whipped cream, shaving

Foam gas liquid
cream

[Figure 3]
Some common colloids: (A) gelatin dessert (gel); (B) smoke (solid aerosol); (C) butter (solid emulsion); (D) mayonnaise (liquid
emulsion); (E) fog (liquid aerosol); (F) marshmallows (foam); (G) whipped cream (foam).

Another property of a colloidal system is observed when the colloids are studied under a
light microscope. The colloids scintillate, reflecting brief flashes of light because the
colloidal particles move in a rapid and random fashion. This phenomenon, called
Brownian motion, is caused by collisions between the small colloidal particles and the
molecules of the dispersion medium.

What are Emulsions?

Butter and mayonnaise are examples of a class of colloids called emulsions.
An emulsion is a colloidal dispersion of a liquid in either a liquid or a solid. A stable
emulsion requires an emulsifying agent to be present. Mayonnaise is made in part of oil
and vinegar. Since oil is nonpolar, and vinegar is a polar aqueous solution, the two do
not mix and would quickly separate into layers. However, the addition of egg yolk
causes the mixture to become stable and not separate. Egg yolk is capable of
interacting with both the polar vinegar and the nonpolar oil. The egg yolk is called the
emulsifying agent. Soap acts as an emulsifying agent between grease and water.
Grease cannot be simply rinsed off your hands or another surface because it is
insoluble in water. However, the soap stabilizes a grease-water mixture because one
end of a soap molecule is polar, and the other end is nonpolar. This allows the grease
to be removed from your hands or your clothing by washing with soapy water.