How could knowing the melting point of a substance be helpful for a scientist?

Answer 1

- the melting point is specific; we can identify compounds or elements knowing the melting point

- the melting point is extremely important in technology, we need to know the behavior of materials under heating

Answer 2

Different substances have different typical melting points, so by observing the melting point of something you can narrow down the options for what it is. Usually, metals have higher melting points and non-metals have lower melting points.

Answer 3

Most commonly: purity.

If I synthesize something in the lab, I might want to check I've made the right stuff. I could run an NMR or Mass spec but a quicker check would be melting point. If it matches the known melting point for that compound, chances are I've got the right stuff. Melting point is, in fact, VERY accurate when used in this way and measured correctly. Most compounds have rather unique melting points so it's a quick and reliable test.

If I'm already sure I have the right material, then melting point serves as a test of purity. The closer to the known melting point my compound is, the purer it is as melting point changes with impurities. This is again a powerful (and convenient) tool.

All of this is well and good but for real determination of impurity and structure, an NMR or similar technique should be applied. Never the less, melting point data is very welcome in any submitted results.

Answer 4

It is used so ypu can accurately use the substance. What would a substance be if it freezed or boiled on you when you didn't need or want it to?

For example, some foods cannot freeze or boil or they will go bad. For that purpose minimum and maximum temperatures are listed.

Answer 5

If the scientist doesn't know what the substance is, they could find the melting point of the substance and match it to what it could be and then figure out the unknown substance :)

Hope this helped!!

Answer 6

to know the purity of sample it is most accurate way to know the sample

Answer 7

What if the solid were going to be exposed to heat? Would it not be useful to know when it would melt?