Question

A scientist is examining an unknown solid. Which procedure would most likely help determine a chemical property of the substance?

a. heating it to find the temperature at which it melts
b. exposing it to a flame to see if it catches on fire
c. hitting it with a hammer to determine if it breaks or bends
d. placing it in water to find out whether or not it dissolves

Answer 1

Exposing it to a flame to see if it catches on fire

Step-by-step explanation:

This is known as the flame test; The flame test is used to visually determine the identity of an unknown metal ions in a compound.

With the help of the flame test, the scientist can make use it as a qualitative test that guides him in making decision when trying to pinpoint the identity of the solid.

When the solid is exposed to flame, there may be a characteristic color given off that is visible to the naked eye (Note: Not all solids give flame colors).

The colors observed during the flame test result from the excitement of the electrons caused by the increased temperature. When the atoms of the electron are excited, for instance by, their electrons are able to move from their ground state to higher energy levels.

With this, the scientist can draw a valid conclusion.

Answer 2

b. exposing it to a flame to see if it catches on fire

Step-by-step explanation:

The Procedure will most likely help to determine a chemical property of substance is : exposing material to a flame to see if it catches on fire Chemical property is the characteristic that a substance has that differentiate it from another substance. The most common charatcteristics that most scientists wanted to know are : - It's flammability - It's radioactivity - Its toxicity By throwing the object into fire, we will easily find out these 3 characteristics

Hence the correct answer is b. exposing it to a flame to see if it catches on fire.