You have been given an unknown solid, and you know that it is either NaCl or sugar. Devise an experiment that could distinguish between these two substances. No taste testing allowed! Answer
To distinguish between NaCl and sugar, first dissolve the substance in water, then measure the solution's conductivity. If the conductivity is zero, the solid is sugar, since sugar is a non-electrolyte. If the conductivity is non-zero, the solid is sodium chloride, since NaCl is a strong electrolyte.