Select at least two elements to mix; they can be liquid or solid, and usually a combination of the two works best. Put on safety goggles and a safety coat to protect the body.
Place a tiny but equal amount of each substance into the straight beaker.
Use the stirring rod to mix the elements together for at least one minute.
Examine the mixture. If the elements can be easily identified, they are inhomogeneous; these elements do not mix together. If it is hard to tell the elements from one another, it is a homogeneous mixture.
Test that the elements are a mixture by attempting to separate them by some physical process. For example, water can be filtered from sand in a sand and water mixture, salt can be evaporated from water in a salt and water mixture and oil can be scooped from a water and oil mixture. If the elements will only separate by a chemical reaction, it is a compound and not a mixture.
Repeat these steps using a variety of elements, making note of what substances form mixtures (inhomogeneous or homogeneous) or compounds.