One day Reeta went to a jeweller’s shop with her mother. Her mother gave an old gold jewellery to the goldsmith to polish. Next day when they brought the jewellery back, they found that there was a slight loss in its weight. Can you suggest a reason for the loss in weight?

The gold jewellery is dipped into an acidic solution called aqua regia (a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid) for polishing. On dipping the gold jewellery in the acid solution, the outer layer of gold dissolves and the inner shiny layer appears. This causes a slight loss in its weight.