Tag: Compound vs mixture

While milk is surprisingly high in water content—often over 87%—it is fundamentally different from pure water. The question, 'are milk and water the same thing?', can be answered definitively by looking at their chemical makeup, which reveals one is a simple compound and the other a complex mixture.

Over 85% of cow's milk is water, but the remaining percentage is a complex blend of various substances. This leads to a common question in chemistry: is whole milk a compound? The simple answer is no; whole milk is a complex, heterogeneous mixture of many different compounds, not a single one.

Fresh cow's milk is typically about 87% water, yet its remaining 13% contains a complex array of different substances. Far from being a single compound element, milk is scientifically defined as a colloidal mixture composed of water, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. This article explains the chemical makeup of milk and why it's a prime example of a heterogeneous mixture.