Is a gaseous mixture able to contain isolated atoms and molecules, and if so, do the mixtures have to contain them?
I'm not sure what you mean by isolated. A mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, for example(air), contains individual oxygen atoms and individual nitrogen atoms but they are evenly spaced throughout the container.
Yes, a gaseous mixture can indeed contain isolated atoms and molecules. In fact, most gases consist of individual atoms or molecules. However, not all gaseous mixtures necessarily contain isolated atoms or molecules.
The composition of a gaseous mixture can vary widely. Some mixtures may consist of a single type of atom or molecule, such as pure oxygen (O₂) or pure nitrogen (N₂). In these cases, the mixture consists of isolated atoms or molecules.
On the other hand, gaseous mixtures can also contain multiple types of atoms or molecules. For example, air is a mixture of nitrogen molecules (N₂), oxygen molecules (O₂), carbon dioxide molecules (CO₂), and smaller amounts of other gases like helium and argon. In this case, the atoms and molecules are not entirely isolated, as they are surrounded by other atoms and molecules.
To determine whether a gaseous mixture contains isolated atoms or molecules, you need to consider its composition. If the mixture consists of a single type of atom or molecule, then it contains isolated particles. However, if it consists of multiple types, the atoms and molecules are not isolated but are mixed together.