Select the correct answer.

A chemist is trying to identify a sample of metal listed in the table below. She passes an electrical current through the sample and finds that it is one of the best conductors among the listed metals. Then she heats the metal to [tex]$1000^{\circ} C$[/tex], the highest temperature her heater allows. The metal does not melt. Which type of metal does the chemist have?

\begin{tabular}{|l|l|l|}
\hline Material & Melting Point ([tex]\(^{\circ}\)[/tex]C) & Electrical Conductivity Ranking \\
\hline aluminum & 660 & 3 \\
\hline copper & 1085 & 2 \\
\hline zinc & 420 & 4 \\
\hline silver & 962 & 1 \\
\hline nickel & 1455 & 5 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

A. aluminum
B. copper
C. zinc
D. silver
E. nickel



Answer :

Given the chemist's observations, we can follow these steps to identify the metal:

1. Determine if the metal melts at [tex]$1000^{\circ} C$[/tex]: The metal does not melt when heated to [tex]$1000^{\circ} C$[/tex]. Therefore, only metals with a melting point above [tex]$1000^{\circ} C$[/tex] can be considered. From the table, these metals are:
- Copper: [tex]$1085^{\circ} C$[/tex]
- Nickel: [tex]$1455^{\circ} C$[/tex]

2. Consider electrical conductivity: Of the metals listed in the table, we need to find the one with the best electrical conductivity ranking among the remaining options. The conductivity rankings for the eligible metals are:
- Copper: 2
- Nickel: 5

3. Select the best conductor: The metal with the lower conductivity ranking number is the better conductor. Thus, comparing the rankings:
- Copper has a ranking of 2, which is better than Nickel's ranking of 5.

Therefore, based on these observations and comparisons, the metal the chemist has is:
B. copper.