Four students are analyzing four different substances and recording their findings in this table.

Question

A 3-column table with 4 rows titled Properties of Substances. The first column titled substance has entries Leonna's substance, Xiao's substance, Blake's substance, Amir's substance. The second column titled definite shape has entries X, nothing, X, nothing. The third column titled definite volume has entries X, X, nothing, nothing.

Which most describes this table?

Leonna has a solid, Xiao and Blake have liquids, and Amir has a gas.
Leonna and Amir have gasses, Xiao has a liquid, and Blake has a solid.
Leonna has a solid, Xiao has a liquid, Blake has a gas, and Amir made a mistake.
Leonna has a solid, Xiao has a liquid, Blake made a mistake, and Amir has a gas.

Answer 1

To analyze the table based on the properties recorded for each substance:

• Definite Shape (X means yes): Indicates that the substance has a definite shape (solid).
• Definite Volume (X means yes): Indicates that the substance has a definite volume (solid or liquid).

Now, let’s evaluate each student's findings:

• Leonna's Substance:

  • Definite Shape: X (solid)
  • Definite Volume: X (solid)
  • Conclusion: Leonna has a solid.

• Xiao's Substance:

  • Definite Shape: nothing (not a solid)
  • Definite Volume: X (liquid)
  • Conclusion: Xiao has a liquid.

• Blake's Substance:

  • Definite Shape: X (solid)
  • Definite Volume: nothing (not a solid or liquid)
  • Since Blake has a definite shape but not volume, this indicates an inconsistency—most likely an error regarding the classification.
  • Conclusion: Blake might have made a mistake.

• Amir's Substance:

  • Definite Shape: nothing (not a solid)
  • Definite Volume: nothing (not a liquid)
  • Conclusion: Amir has a gas.

Now, let’s compare the conclusions with the given options:

1. Leonna has a solid, Xiao and Blake have liquids, and Amir has a gas. (Incorrect: Xiao is correct for liquid, but Blake has an inconsistency.)

2. Leonna and Amir have gasses, Xiao has a liquid, and Blake has a solid. (Incorrect: Leonna has a solid and Amir has a gas.)

3. Leonna has a solid, Xiao has a liquid, Blake made a mistake, and Amir has a gas. (Correct: matches all findings.)

4. Leonna has a solid, Xiao has a liquid, Blake made a mistake, and Amir has a gas. (Valid statements: consistently match findings, thus this option is actually correct).

Since both statements 3 and 4 accurately describe the substances, the best description based on the analysis is:

Leonna has a solid, Xiao has a liquid, Blake made a mistake, and Amir has a gas.