Questions: Suspensions: Mixtures That Don't Dissolve

Question 1

You shake a jar of sand and water. The water turns cloudy brown. After 10 minutes, the sand is sitting at the bottom and the water is clear again. What type of mixture is this?

• A. A solution — because the sand mixed with the water when you shook it
• B. A suspension — because the sand particles were temporarily spread through the water but settled out
• C. A pure substance — because the sand and water separated on their own
• D. A chemical reaction — because the water changed color

Answer: (B)

This is a suspension. The sand particles were spread through the water by shaking, making it look cloudy, but they were too large to truly dissolve. Given time, gravity pulled them to the bottom. In a true solution, the particles would not settle out.

Question 2

Orange juice with pulp is a suspension.

• T. True
• F. False

Answer: True

True. The pulp pieces are tiny bits of orange fruit floating in the juice. They are too large to dissolve, and if you let the juice sit long enough, pulp settles toward the bottom. That is why orange juice cartons say 'shake well' — the suspension separates over time.

Question 3

How can you tell the difference between a solution and a suspension just by looking?

Model answer: A solution is usually clear because the dissolved particles are too small to see or block light. A suspension looks cloudy or murky because the particles are large enough to scatter light. A suspension will also settle over time if left undisturbed.

Clarity is the quickest visual test. Solutions let light pass straight through, while suspensions scatter it, making the mixture look foggy or opaque. Watching whether the mixture separates on its own is another reliable test.