Final answer:
Bending a metal wire is a physical change because it does not alter the chemical composition of the metal; the process can be reversed, keeping the metal's properties intact. It is an example of a physical form change, similar to melting or dissolving, where no new substances are created.
Step-by-step explanation:
Bending a metal wire is a physical change because it involves a change in the shape or form of the metal, but does not alter its chemical composition. The correct answer to why bending a metal wire is a physical change is C) It can be reversed without changing the metal's properties. When a physical change occurs, no new substance is created; the metal stays the same substance it was before it was bent.
A physical change does not affect the chemical composition of a substance; instead, it typically involves changes in the state of matter or the physical form. For example, when solid gold is melted into liquid gold, this is a physical change since the gold remains gold in a different form. Furthermore, when sugar dissolves in water it is a physical change as well, because the chemical composition of sugar doesn't change, and if the water evaporates, the sugar can recrystallize in solid form.
Physical changes are characterized by the fact that they can often be reversed and the original properties of the material can be restored, such as unbending the metal wire to its original shape, solidifying melted gold, or evaporating water to retrieve dissolved sugar.