When salt is added to water, the salt crystals disappear and the water tastes salty, forming a homogenous saltwater mixture where the salt and water particles are evenly mixed on a microscopic level. In a heterogeneous mixture, the individual substances that make it up are not evenly distributed and their particles remain visible, such as a suspension where one substance is suspended in another. The document provides examples of homogenous and heterogeneous mixtures and directs the reader to activities in the textbook to further explore the differences between the two types of mixtures.