Purple Group Header Warm-Up Why can I smell a chocolate bar even though it is a solid? Read the description of the office mystery and write your prediction below. On a warm afternoon, a Universal Space Agency office worker returned from lunch break and noticed the office smelled like chocolate. She didn't see anything in the air, but she noticed her coworker was opening the wrapper of a solid bar of chocolate. Why can the office worker smell the chocolate bar even though it is in solid form?

The smell of a chocolate is from the presence of volatile compounds present in the chocolate bar which at room temperature readily changes phase from solid to liquid to vapor or gas

Explanation:

There are nearly 600 identified compounds present in a chocolate bar and out of these, there are volatile components which gives the chocolate bar its distinctive aroma.

These volatile chocolate contents readily change phase from solid to vapor, with very short duration liquid phase.

For example, 3 methylbutanal, vanillin, and several organic compounds which are known to be readily volatile.