teacher gives a student a nontoxic, odorless, white powder to identify. Generate four questions, each regarding a different property of the unknown powder that could be safely tested and answered in the laboratory.

Question

thomaster · Answer

You could test the dissolubility by looking how much dissolves in the water untill the solution is saturated.
You can dissolve it into water and test the conductivity. If it conducts electricity very well its probably a salt.

thomaster · Answer

You can also make a few small piles of the powder on a sheet and add a drop of different reagents to every pile. If you add iodine and the powder turns black its probably starch

aaronq · Answer

Find it's melting and boiling point by heating it up.

Acquire IR and NMR spectra ;)