Answered

Select the correct answer.

A chemist is trying to identify a sample of metal that is listed in this table. She passes an electrical current through the sample and finds that, of the metals listed in the table, it is one of the best conductors. Then she heats the metal to [tex][tex]$1000^{\circ} C$[/tex][/tex], which is the highest temperature her heater allows. The metal does not melt. Which type of metal does the chemist have?

\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|}
\hline
Material & Melting Point [tex]$\left({ }^{\circ} C \right)$[/tex] & Electrical Conductivity Ranking \\
\hline
aluminum & 660 & 3 \\
\hline
copper & 1085 & 2 \\
\hline
zinc & 420 & 4 \\
\hline
silver & 962 & 1 \\
\hline
nickel & 1455 & 5 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

A. aluminum
B. copper
C. zinc
D. silver
E. nickel



Answer :

GinnyAnswer
Sure, let's break this down step-by-step to identify the metal.

We know the following about the metal:
1. It's one of the best conductors listed.
2. It doesn't melt when heated to [tex]\( 1000^{\circ} C \)[/tex].

We'll start by looking at the electrical conductivity rankings since this tells us about the conductivity of the metals.

Here are the rankings from the table:
- aluminum: 3
- copper: 2
- zinc: 4
- silver: 1
- nickel: 5

Since the chemist finds that the metal is one of the best conductors, it should have a low electrical conductivity ranking number. Specifically, out of these options, the best conductors would have rankings of 1, 2, or 3.

Now, let's look at the melting points and see which metals do not melt at [tex]\( 1000^{\circ} C \)[/tex].

Here are the melting points:
- aluminum: 660 [tex]\(^{\circ} C\)[/tex]
- copper: 1085 [tex]\(^{\circ} C\)[/tex]
- zinc: 420 [tex]\(^{\circ} C\)[/tex]
- silver: 962 [tex]\(^{\circ} C\)[/tex]
- nickel: 1455 [tex]\(^{\circ} C\)[/tex]

We need a melting point greater than [tex]\( 1000^{\circ} C \)[/tex].

From this list, the metals that do not melt at [tex]\( 1000^{\circ} C \)[/tex] are:
- copper (1085 [tex]\(^{\circ} C\)[/tex])
- nickel (1455 [tex]\(^{\circ} C\)[/tex])

Given that we need a good conductor:
- copper is ranked 2 in conductivity
- nickel is ranked 5 in conductivity

Since we are looking for one of the best conductors, copper is the correct answer (as it has the second-best conductivity ranking).

So, the chemist has:
B. copper

Other Questions