The question is incomplete, the complete question is;
Determine whether each melting point observation corresponds to a pure sample of a single compound or to an impure sample with multiple compounds.
Experimental melting point is BELOW literature value
Experimental melting point is CLOSE to literature value
WIDE melting point range
NARROW melting point range
Answer:
narrow melting point-pure sample of a single compound
experimental melting point is close to literature value-pure sample of a single compound
wide melting point range-impure sample of multiple compounds
experimental melting point is below literature value-impure sample of multiple compounds
Explanation:
The experimental melting point of a pure single compound is sharp and extremely close to the melting point of the substance as recorded in the literature. Usually, a pure substance melts within a narrow range of temperatures.
Impure samples of multiple compounds melt over a range of temperatures. Also if the experimental melting point is well below the record in literature, then the sample is contaminated by other compounds.
