A substance made of two or more elements that combine physically rather than chemically is known as what?

A substance made of two or more elements that combine physically rather than chemically is referred to as a mixture. In a mixture, the individual components retain their own properties and can be separated by physical means, such as filtration or evaporation. This differs from a compound, where elements chemically bond together to form a new substance with different properties.

In a mixture, the proportions of the components can vary, meaning that you can have different ratios of the substances within the mixture. For example, in a salad, you can choose how much lettuce, tomato, or cucumber to include, and each of these ingredients retains its own flavor and nutritional profile. This physical combination contrasts with solutions, where one substance is dissolved into another, and compounds, which have a fixed composition and specific chemical properties. Elements, on the other hand, are pure substances consisting of only one type of atom and cannot be separated into simpler substances by chemical means.