"in chemistry, the type of an atom (what element it is) is determined by: "

The number of protons in the nucleus, or atomic number.  Only one element can have a certain number of protons; for example, only lithium atoms can have exactly 3 protons in the nucleus.

Crust,mantle,core,earth

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.