Question

question 1 10 pts
boris and his friends were looking at tiny crystals of salt with a magnifying glass. they wondered what they would see if they had a magnifying device powerful enough to see the atoms. this is what they thought they might see:

boris: “the atoms would be packed tightly together. they would look like a solid material without any empty space between the atoms.”

portia: “i think i would see vibrating atoms arranged in an orderly way with spaces between them. there would be nothing in the spaces, not even air.”

vivi: “i think i would see atoms not moving and arranged in an orderly way with spaces between them.”

leif: “i think i would see vibrating atoms arranged in an orderly way. there would be space between the atoms. the space would be filled with air.”

which student has the best explanation?

○ vivi
○ portia
○ boris
○ leif

Explanation:

To determine the best explanation, we analyze the atomic structure of a solid (salt crystals are solid). In a solid, atoms are closely packed in an orderly arrangement and vibrate (not move freely like in liquids/gases). Let's evaluate each student:

• Boris: Says atoms are packed tightly with no space, but solids do have small spaces (interatomic gaps), so incorrect.
• Portia: Says atoms are in an orderly way with space (correct for solid structure) and no air in spaces (air is a mixture of gases; within the salt crystal's atomic structure, spaces between atoms in the crystal lattice don't have air, as the crystal is a solid structure of salt atoms/ions). Also, atoms in solids vibrate (she mentions vibrating), which is correct.
• Vivi: Says atoms are not moving and in an orderly way. But atoms in solids vibrate (move slightly), so "not moving" is incorrect.
• Leif: Says spaces are filled with air. But within the salt crystal's atomic lattice, the spaces between atoms in the crystal structure are not filled with air (air is outside or in pores, not within the ordered atomic arrangement of the crystal). So incorrect.

Portia's description matches the solid atomic structure: orderly arrangement, spaces (interatomic), vibrating atoms, and no air in those spaces (since the crystal is a compact solid structure of salt's own atoms/ions, not containing air within the lattice).

Answer:

Portia