A geochemist examines a piece of metal that he found in the soil. He performs tests to identify the metal from its density, electrical conductivity, and melting point. Which statement best describes his investigation? A. He is determining physical properties that are sufficient to identify the metal. B. He is determining chemical properties that are sufficient to identify the metal. C. He is determining physical properties that are insufficient to identify the metal. D. He is determining chemical properties that are insufficient to identify the metal.

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Answer:  A. He is determining physical properties that are sufficient to identify the metal.

Chemical properties are properties which are determined by altering the chemical composition of a substance.

Physical properties are properties which are determined without altering the chemical composition of a substance.

Physical properties such as density, electrical conductivity, and melting point are sufficient to identify a metal as these properties are independent of the  amount of substance being examined.

These properties are known as intensive properties and are used  to identify a substance by comparing the obtained values with standard values.

The statement that best describes the investigation of geochemist is

[tex]\boxed{{\text{A}}{\text{. He is determining physical properties that are sufficient to identify the metal}}}[/tex]

Further Explanation:

The property is a unique feature of the substance that differentiates it from the other substances. It is classified into two types:

1. Physical properties:

The properties that are measured without altering the chemical nature of the substance are called physical properties. These are used to observe and describe matter. Textures, color, melting point, boiling point, density, solubility, polarity are the examples of physical properties. These can be intensive (depending on the nature of substance) or extensive (depending on amount of substance). Density, melting point, electrical conductivity are intensive while mass, volume, weight are extensive.

2. Chemical properties:

These properties are the characteristics of substances that are observed when it undergoes a chemical reaction. These cannot be determined by just observing or touching the substances. Heat of combustion, enthalpy of combustion, toxicity, flammability are some examples of chemical properties.

Density is calculated by mass per unit volume. Both mass and volume are the physical properties that are extensive in nature and their ratio comes out to be an intensive quantity that depends only on the nature of the substance, not on the amount of the substance. Metals have high density so it is sufficient to identify the metal.

Electrical conductivity is also a physical property that can be observed without changing the chemical composition of the substance. Metals have high electrical conductivity and therefore can be used to identify metals.

Melting point is a physical property that can be observed without allowing the substance to undergo any chemical change. Metals have high melting points and hence this property can be used to identify them.

Density, electrical conductivity, and melting point are the physical properties, not chemical ones. These are completely sufficient to identify metals. So statement A is correct while the statements B, C and D are incorrect.

Learn more:

1. Rate of chemical reaction: https://brainly.com/question/1569924

2. The main purpose of conducting experiments: https://brainly.com/question/5096428

Answer details:

Grade: High School

Subject: Chemistry

Chapter: Physical and chemical properties

Keywords: Property, intensive, extensive, physical properties, chemical properties, density, electrical conductivity, melting point, substance, amount, quantity, nature, chemical reaction, chemical change.