When a puddle of water dries up, is this process considered a physical change or a chemical change?

• A. Chemical change
• B. Neither physical nor chemical change
• C. Physical change
• D. Both physical and chemical change

Answer: (C)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the definitions of physical and chemical changes. A physical change affects the form or physical properties of a substance without changing its chemical identity, while a chemical change results in the formation of one or more new substances with different chemical properties.
2. Step 2: Analyze the process of a puddle of water drying up. This involves water molecules transitioning from the liquid phase to the gas phase (evaporation).
3. Step 3: Recognize that during evaporation, the chemical composition of water (H\_2O) remains the same; only its physical state changes from liquid to gas.
4. Step 4: Conclude that since no new substances are formed and only a phase change occurs, drying of a puddle is a physical change.
5. Step 5: Therefore, the correct classification of the drying puddle process is a physical change.