Question

Write a scientific argument that addresses the question: Which suspect is most likely to have made the hydrofluoric acid? First, state your claim. Then, use evidence to support your claim. For each piece of evidence you use, explain how the evidence supports your claim.

THE SUSPECTS ARE EITHER PAT OR TRACY. I'm pretty sure it's Pat but I need a clear explanation to why it is her who created the hydrofluoric acid!

Answer 1

Pat is most likely to have made the hydrofluoric acid. My first piece of evidence is that the chemical supply company delivered sulfuric acid and calcium fluoride to Pat’s house However, these substances were not found at Pat’s house. This could mean that Pat used these substances in a chemical reaction. This evidence supports my claim because a chemical reaction between sulfuric acid and calcium fluoride could cause the atoms to rearrange to form hydrofluoric acid as one of the products. This is because sulfuric acid contains hydrogen atoms, and calcium fluoride contains fluorine atoms, which are the two types of atoms that repeat to make up hydrofluoric acid.

My next piece of evidence is that the police found calcium sulfate at Pat’s house. This evidence supports my claim because if Pat mixed the sulfuric acid and the calcium fluoride to make hydrofluoric acid, then the other product of this reaction could be calcium sulfate. This is because only the hydrogen and fluorine atoms would rearrange to form hydrofluoric acid. The rest of the atoms of the reactants would have to rearrange to form another substance. Calcium sulfate is probably the other product that would form because its atom group contains all the atoms that did not rearrange to form hydrofluoric acid. This evidence suggests that Pat mixed sulfuric acid and calcium fluoride to make the hydro.. whatever.