Multiple Choice
Which of the following best describes what happens when a substance undergoes a physical change?
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1. Intro to General Chemistry
Physical & Chemical Changes
Multiple Choice
Water freezing and becoming ice is an example of what type of change?
A
Nuclear change
B
Physical change
C
Chemical change
D
Biological change
Verified step by step guidance1
Understand the difference between physical and chemical changes: Physical changes affect the form of a substance but not its chemical composition, while chemical changes result in the formation of new substances.
Recognize that when water freezes to become ice, it changes from a liquid to a solid state, but the molecular structure of H\_2O remains the same.
Since the chemical identity of water does not change during freezing, this process does not involve breaking or forming chemical bonds.
Therefore, freezing water is a change in physical state, which classifies it as a physical change.
Confirm that nuclear changes involve changes in the nucleus of atoms, and biological changes involve living organisms, neither of which apply here.
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