Period 6 element also dissolves in alkaline solutions of cyanide, which have been used in mining. Gold dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys. Gold is insoluble in nitric acid, which dissolves silver and base metals, a property that has long been used to confirm the presence of gold in items, giving rise to the term "the acid test." Gold has been a valuable and highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since long before the beginning of recorded history. Gold standards have been a common basis for monetary policies throughout human history, later being supplanted by fiat currency starting in
Acid–base titration given below: where " φ = fraction of completion of the titration (φ < 1 is before the equivalence point, φ = 1 is the equivalence point, and φ > 1 is after the equivalence point) This formula is somewhat cumbersome, but does describe the titration curve as a single equation. The titration process creates solutions with compositions ranging from pure acid to pure base. Identifying the pH associated with any stage in the titration process is relatively simple for monoprotic acids and bases. The presence of more than one acid or base group complicates these computations. Graphical methods, such