Which of the following is the best thermal insulator?
a. air
b. aluminum
c. iron
d. water

A. Air

Explanation:

A thermal insulator is a material that does not let the heat trasmitting through it, or it transmits heat not very efficiently.

Generally, the lower the density of the material, the better insulator the material is: this is because in materials with very low density, particles are very spread apart, so they cannot collide with each other, and so the vibrations of the particles (which determine how hot a substance is) cannot be transmitted very efficiently.

In the options listed in this problem, air is the material with lowest density, therefore it is the best thermal insulator among them.

  the grams     of oxygen gas   that can be produced     is 20.6   grams of o₂

calculation

2liclo₃ →   2 licl + 3 o₂

step 1:   find the moles of liclo₃

moles = mass÷ molar mass

from periodic table the molar mass of liclo₃ =6.9 +35.5   +(16 x3) =90.4 g/mol

moles=38.7 g÷90.4 g/mol=0.4281   moles

step 2:   use the   mole ratio   to calculate the moles of o2

from equation above, liclo₃: o₂   is 2: 3  

therefore the moles of   o₂=0.4281 moles x3/2 =0.6422   moles

step 3: find mass   of o₂

mass= moles x molar mass

from periodic table the   molar mass of   o₂ = 16 x2= 32 g/mol

mass=0.6422   moles   x   32 g/mol = 20.6 grams of o₂