Question

the passage below describes an experiment. in each of three bowls, tom combined one cup of water and 20 grams of salt, he repeated this with sugar and 20 grams of sugar for the two other bowls, substituting 20 grams of sugar for the salt. then he put one bowl on a stand over a bunsen burner, which he set to produce a small flame. the heat from the flame helped to evaporate the water. tom measured the amount of time from when the water started to boil to when it had completely evaporated. he did the same with the other five bowls. identify the question that the experiment can best answer. does water mixed with salt evaporate faster than water mixed with sugar? does the size of the flame used to heat water affect the time it takes the water to evaporate?

Explanation:

Step1: Identify experimental setup

The experiment has different bowls with water - some with salt and sugar, and uses a Bunsen burner to heat. The main variable manipulated seems to be related to heating.

Step2: Analyze question options

The question about flame size directly relates to a variable that can be controlled in the experiment (size of flame) and measures the time of evaporation which can be observed in the setup. The other two questions involve comparisons between water with salt and water with sugar which is not the main focus of the described setup.

Answer:

The question that the experiment can best answer is "Does the size of the flame used to heat water affect the time it takes the water to evaporate?"