1. You have been given the task of identifying the composition of an ancient met
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Question
1. You have been given the task of identifying the composition of an ancient metal coin which seems to be composed of a yellowish metal. Suggest what you might do to learn the identity of its composition?
2. A piece of jewelry has been put up for auction. You have been hired to authenticate it as 14 k gold. Clearly, you must employ a non-destructive testing technique. Taking your inspiration from Archimedes you decide to measure it's density. The piece of jewelry has a mass of 8.334 g. Unfortunately your only volume measuring device is a fairly imprecise graduated cylinder. The best you can do is say the volume of the piece is between 0.5 and 1.0 mL. Can you clearly identify it as real or a fake?
Explanation / Answer
1)Atomic emission spectroscopy and Indicatively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) can be employed to find out the composition of the coin.
2) Density of a substance is an identity of a element or compound. Without knowing a precise volume, we won't be able to determine its purity. Because by diluting the metal with some other metal can influence the mass volume and density.
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