One way to determine the difference between a true solution and a heterogeneous mixture is by visual Inspection. Many popular sports drinks have a cloudy or opaque appearance. Are these examples of solutions? (a) No these are examples of heterogeneous mixtures. (b) Yes, sometimes solutions can be clouded like milk. (c) It is impossible to tell just by looking. (d) Each cloudy sports drink will be different

(a) No these are examples of heterogeneous mixtures

Explanation:

A true solution is a homogeneous mixture, this is a mixture of two or more pure substances in any proportion.

Both in homogeneous and heterogeneous mixtures, every component keeps its individual chemical properties, but while in a heterogeneous mixture you can differentiate the components by visual inspection, in an homogeneous mixture you cannot because the components are intimately related.

True solutions do not show visual difference between the components which are called solute and solvent. An example of a solution is salt (sodium chloride) and water. Salt is the solute and water is the solvent.

The cloudy opaque appearance of the sport drink is indicating that there are more than one component: some small particles are mixed in the liquid phase which scatters the light and give the cloudy opaque appareance.

For instance, milk, the substance indicated in the choice b), is not a solution, it is a colloid which is a special kind of heterogeneous mixture.

Mixtures, both homogeneous and heterogeneous, may be separated by physical process, e. g. evaporation, filtration, among others. In that way you can tell if a sample is a pure compound or an homogeneous mixture.