Which statement describes a physical property of water?

• A. Tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless; exists as a liquid, solid, and gas.
• B. Has a strong scent and remains only as a liquid.
• C. Never freezes under Earth's conditions.
• D. Is a nonpolar solvent.

Answer: (A)

Physical properties are characteristics you can observe without changing a substance chemically. For water, being tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless are classic physical properties, and its ability to exist as a liquid, solid (ice), and gas (steam) under different temperatures and pressures shows its phase behavior without any chemical change. That combination describes water accurately.

The other statements don’t fit: water does not have a strong scent and is not limited to one phase; it does freeze at 0°C under standard conditions, so saying it never freezes is false; and water is a polar molecule, meaning it’s not a nonpolar solvent.