Chemical element (85.6 °F), respectively. Melting and boiling points, typically expressed in degrees Celsius at a pressure of one atmosphere, are commonly used in characterizing the various elements. While known for most elements, either or both of these measurements is still undetermined for some of the radioactive elements available in only tiny quantities. Since helium remains a liquid even at absolute zero at atmospheric pressure, it has only a boiling point, and not a melting point, in conventional presentations. The density at selected standard temperature and pressure (STP) is frequently used in characterizing the elements. Density is often expressed in grams per
Boiling-point elevation ebullioscopic increase, one of them leads to adding salt when cooking pasta only after water has started boiling. The misconception is that since the water boils at a higher temperature, food will cook faster. However, at the approximate concentration of salt in water for cooking (10 g of salt per 1 kg of water, or 1 teaspoon per quart), the ebullioscopic increase is approximately 0.17 °C (0.31 °F), which will arguably make no practical difference for cooking, although salt may add to flavors. Boiling-point elevation Boiling-point elevation describes the phenomenon that the boiling point of a liquid (a solvent) will