Final answer:
Compounds can only be broken down into their elements by a chemical process, which alters their elemental composition, unlike physical processes that do not change a substance's chemical identity. S the correct answer is option (D).
Step-by-step explanation:
Compounds can be broken down into their elements by a chemical process. Unlike physical processes such as melting or evaporation, a chemical process changes the elemental composition of substances. For example, water cannot be decomposed into hydrogen and oxygen by heating alone; instead, electrolysis—a chemical process where electricity passes through water—breaks it down into hydrogen and oxygen gases.
It's important to note that physical processes can change the state or appearance of a substance without altering its elemental composition. Melting, boiling, or dissolving are examples of physical changes, whereas chemical processes result in the formation of new substances with different properties.
Melting solids to liquids or boiling liquids to a gas state, as well as separating mixtures through distillation or crystallization, are physical processes that do not change the chemical identity of a substance. However, decomposing a compound into elements requires initiating a chemical change.