Students were asked to select methods to increase the rate of dissolving a solid. Which methods would increase the rate?

You use the atomic number to find out how many protons and neutrons there are in the atom. you use the atomic mass to find out how many protons and electrons there are in the atom. 

You would be correct, boiling water does disinfect contamination.    the property of disinfecting means to kill  germs, bacteria and other pathogens or contamination  that might cause an infection or cause a person to become sickly. a couple methods of disinfecting are using soap, other cleaning supplies or by simply "boiling" the contaminate.  the reason why boiling water disinfects certain attributes is because some cells cannot survive the heat and pressure.