Silver may be prepared by using silver coins. In this process, coins are treated with `HNO_(3)` and then treated with `HCl` to get `AgCl`, but directly coins are not treated with `HCl`.
`HCl` is not a good oxidising agent.

Options

A. If both (A) and ( R) are correct and ( R) is the correct explanation of (A).
B. If both (A) and ( R) are correct, but ( R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
C. If (A) is correct, but ( R) is incorrect.
D. If (A) is incorrect, but ( R) is correct.

Answer

To prepare silver from silver coins, we follow a two-step process involving nitric acid (HNO₃) and hydrochloric acid (HCl). Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of the process:

### Step 1: Treatment with Nitric Acid
1. **Dissolution of Silver Coins**: The silver coins are treated with nitric acid (HNO₃).
- **Chemical Reaction**: The reaction between silver (Ag) and nitric acid produces silver nitrate (AgNO₃), along with nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and water (H₂O).
- **Equation**:
\[ 3Ag + 4HNO_3 \rightarrow 3AgNO_3 + 2NO_2 + 2H_2O \]

### Step 2: Formation of Silver Chloride
2. **Reaction with Hydrochloric Acid**: The silver nitrate solution obtained from the first step is then treated with hydrochloric acid (HCl).
- **Chemical Reaction**: This reaction leads to the formation of silver chloride (AgCl) and nitric acid (HNO₃).
- **Equation**:
\[ AgNO_3 + HCl \rightarrow AgCl + HNO_3 \]

### Explanation of Why HCl is Not Used Directly
3. **Reason for Not Using HCl Directly**: The assertion states that silver coins are not treated directly with HCl because HCl is not a good oxidizing agent.
- **Explanation**: HCl does not have the ability to oxidize silver ions effectively. Therefore, if we were to treat silver coins directly with HCl, the reaction would not proceed as desired. Instead, the silver must first be converted to silver nitrate through oxidation with nitric acid, which can then react with HCl to form silver chloride.

### Conclusion
Both the assertion and the reason provided are correct. However, the reason does not serve as a direct explanation for the assertion. The process requires the intermediate formation of silver nitrate to facilitate the subsequent reaction with hydrochloric acid.

---