Answers to Practice Exercises

This reclining Buddha in the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand is made of gold. 

In Chapter 1 we learned that matter can be divided into the broad categories of pure substances and mixtures. We further learned that pure substances are either elements or compounds. The chemical elements are very important to us in our daily lives. In tiny amounts they play a large role in our health and metabolism. Metallic elements are used for the skin of airplanes, buildings, and sculpture. In this chapter we explore the nature of the chemical elements and begin to learn how chemists classify them. 

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