A sample of what looks like silver has a mass of 1.7 kg and a volume of 0.164 liters. Is it really silver?

Answer 1

To determine whether the sample is really silver, we can calculate its density and compare it to the known density of silver.

Density is calculated using the formula:

$$\text{Density}=\frac{\text{Mass}}{\text{Volume}}$$

Given the mass of the sample is 1.7 kg and the volume is 0.164 liters, we need to convert the volume from liters to cubic meters for standard SI units, where $1\text{ liter}=0.001\text{ cubic meters}$:

$$\text{Volume}=0.164\text{ liters}=0.164\times 0.001{\text{ m}}^3=0.000164{\text{ m}}^3$$

Now, we can calculate the density:

$$\text{Density}=\frac{1.7\text{ kg}}{0.000164{\text{ m}}^3}\approx 10366.5{\text{ kg/m}}^3$$

The density of silver is about $10,490{\text{ kg/m}}^3$.

Now comparing the calculated density of approximately $10,366.5{\text{ kg/m}}^3$ to the density of silver, we see that it is slightly lower but very close. This might suggest that the sample could be silver or perhaps a silver alloy or another metal with a similar density.

Without further tests (such as a conductivity test or chemical analysis), we cannot definitively say if it is pure silver, but it is certainly within the range that suggests it might be silver or a silver-like material.

So, while it looks close to silver based on density, further confirmation would be necessary to make a definitive identification.