Liquid vs Aqueous: Difference and Comparison

Liquid and aqueous are two terms that are widely used in science. Both have properties and characteristics that make them very different from each other. However, people who do not delve into scientific research think that they are one and the same. For the sake of accuracy, it is better to know the distinction between them.

Key Takeaways

1. The liquid is a state of matter characterized by its ability to flow and take the shape of its container. At the same time, aqueous refers to a solution in which water is the solvent.
2. Liquids can be composed of various substances, whereas aqueous solutions involve water.
3. Aqueous solutions are crucial in biological processes and chemical reactions, while liquids play a more general role in everyday life and various industries.

Liquid vs Aqueous

The difference between liquid and aqueous is that liquid is a term used to describe a state of matter that does not have any shape but has some amount of volume to it, whereas aqueous is a term used to describe a solution that is made by mixing a dissoluble substance with a liquid.

A liquid is any substance that is made up of loosely packed molecules held together by chemical bonds. It flows freely and has the ability to be placed into containers of all shapes and kinds. However, because of its volume, it tends to sit down and does not fill up every corner and crevice of a container like gasses do.

Meanwhile, aqueous can be looked at as a kind of liquid. However, it has many more features and properties. It is essentially a mixture of a dissoluble substance and water. This substance may be solid, liquid, or gaseous, but it should surely form a new substance when put into the solvent.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Liquid	Aqueous
Meaning	Liquid is a state of matter made up of loosely packed molecules held together using chemical bonds.	Aqueous is a solution that is made by mixing a dissoluble substance with water.
Composition	It may or may not contain a solute.	It always contains a solute along with a solvent which is water.
Dissoluble Substance	The solvent may or may not mix with the solute completely.	The solvent always mixes with the solute completely, forming a third substance.
Nature	A liquid may have a polar or non-polar nature.	An aqueous solution is always polar in nature.
Example	Examples of liquids include water, blood, wine, milk, mercury, etc.	Examples of aqueous solutions include rain, seawater, cold drinks, tea, etc.

What is Liquid?

A liquid is a term used to describe the state of matter of a substance. The substance needs to have certain properties and characteristics for it to be classified under this category. First of all, the molecules of the substance should be loosely packed and incompressible. Due to this, the substance becomes free-flowing and can be shaped in any way, according to the container it is poured in.

Another characteristic of a liquid is that it has a fixed volume unaffected by pressure. However, liquids cannot disperse into a container and fill every corner of it as gasses do. Due to a liquid’s certain constant volume, it tends to sit down and leave spaces on the top.

Liquids differ from an aqueous solution because they may or may not contain other substances. Moreover, it is not necessary for the substances to be dissolvable. A liquid can contain any organic or inorganic matter and would retain most of its properties.

Another aspect is that a liquid may be polar or non-polar. A polar liquid such as water can only dissolves in other liquids which are polar. It does not have the ability to dissolve in non-polar liquids such as oil.

What is Aqueous?

Aqueous is a term used to describe a solution that is made using only polar liquids. The base substance in which something is dissolved must always be water. Moreover, the substance that is being dissolved must mix into the water completely. If this does not happen, the resulting mixture cannot be termed an aqueous solution.

Some examples of an aqueous solution include rainwater, seawater, tea, cold drinks and even urine. All of these solutions have a hydrophilic substance dissolved in them, with water as a base liquid. If they were pure liquids such as mercury, they would not even be called a solution in the first place.

Another aspect is that when the substances are mixed together, the result must be stable. For example, when salt is dissolved in water, it can stand that way indefinitely. The salt does not settle at the bottom of the container. However, if sand is mixed with water, the sand molecules will sit down at the bottom after a certain amount of time.

Therefore, saltwater can be termed as an aqueous solution, whereas sand water cannot. Moreover, the salt cannot be filtered out after it is mixed. On the other hand, the sand can easily be filtered.

Main Differences Between Liquid and Aqueous

1. A liquid is a state of matter made up of loosely packed molecules held together using chemical bonds, whereas aqueous is a solution that is made by mixing a dissoluble substance with water.
2. The liquid may or may not contain a solute, whereas aqueous always contains a solute along with a solvent which is water.
3. The liquid may or may not mix with the solute completely, whereas aqueous always mixes with the solute completely, forming a third substance.
4. A liquid may have a polar or non-polar nature, whereas an aqueous solution is always polar in nature.
5. Examples of liquids include water, blood, wine, milk, mercury, etc., whereas aqueous solutions include rain, seawater, cold drinks, tea, etc.

References

1. https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms3844?origin=ppub
2. https://journals.aps.org/rmp/abstract/10.1103/RevModPhys.48.587

Last Updated : 11 June, 2023