To determine which metal the chemist has, follow these steps:
1. Examine Melting Points: The metal does not melt at 1000°C. This means that the metal's melting point must be higher than 1000°C.
- Aluminum: Melting point = 660°C (less than 1000°C) -> Eliminate aluminum
- Copper: Melting point = 1085°C (greater than 1000°C)
- Zinc: Melting point = 420°C (less than 1000°C) -> Eliminate zinc
- Silver: Melting point = 962°C (less than 1000°C) -> Eliminate silver
- Nickel: Melting point = 1455°C (greater than 1000°C)
Based on melting points alone, the possibilities are narrowed down to copper and nickel.
2. Examine Electrical Conductivity: Next, we need to look at the electrical conductivity ranking to determine which of these remaining metals is the best conductor.
- Copper: Electrical conductivity ranking = 2
- Nickel: Electrical conductivity ranking = 5
Since the metal is one of the best conductors and among the given options, a lower ranking number means better conductivity, copper has a better conductivity ranking (2) compared to nickel (5).
Therefore, the metal the chemist is working with must be Copper (B).