science help?

Question

here is the question:

while on a class field trip, a student found a shiny rock that appeared to be a metal. when she returned to the classroom, she heated the rock for a while and found that it lost mass. further heating did not affect the mass. could this rock be an element? explain.

any ideas? thx!!!

Answer 1

what kind of metal did it look like? what color was it? were there inclusions in the original rock that disappeared when heated?

you rarely find "elements" just lying around in their pure state; they're usually mixed with other elements, or oxidized, or otherwise impure.

Answer 2

No, losing mass is a sign of the molecules breaking down and evaporating. An element can not be broken down into simplier molecules.