Is tap water a mechanical mixture or a solution?

Answer 1

Unless you have some abnormal issues, the liquid flowing from your tap is (mainly) a solution. Mechanical mixtures can be separated by mechanical means (a sieve, magnet,etc.) Solutions can not.

Your tap water should consist of H2O (water), some dissolved minerals and metals (in solution), and some dissolved gasses (including the gasses forced into the water by the aerator on your faucet--this is why if you leave a glass of tap water out overnight bubbles will form on the sides; it's the dissolved gasses collecting on the sides of the glass.)

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Answer 2

It is both.

There may be solid particles in it , [icked up from moving along a pipeline, hence a mixture!!!

However, chlorine is dissolved in it, as a bacteriocide, ( kill the bugs/microbes).

Hence it is a solution.

Depending on the ground rock water has flowed over, before collection into reservoirs, it will have a taste. , and there by a solution.

NB Chlorine gas is dissolved in fresh water, where it disproportionates.

Cl2 = Cl^- & Cl^+

These two ions combine with water molecules to form HCl(hydrochloric acid) & HClO(Hypochlorous acid / bleach). The proportions are so small you do not taste them, but they do the job of killing bacteria.

The chemical equation is

Cl2 + H2O = HCl + HClO

Answer 3

Tap water is a solution because it is a homogeneous mixture of water and various dissolved minerals and gases. These components are uniformly dispersed and cannot be easily separated by mechanical means.