Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 13: Problem 34

Which causes a more severe burn: liquid water at \(100^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) or steam at \(100^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) ? Why?

Short Answer

Expert verified
Steam at 100°C causes a more severe burn than liquid water at 100°C due to the additional latent heat of vaporization.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Question

The question is asking to compare the severity of burns between liquid water and steam both at the same temperature of 100°C. Understanding the properties of phase changes and the concept of heat transfer is critical here.
02

Consider the Energy Transfer in Liquid Water

Liquid water at 100°C transfers heat to the skin based on its specific heat capacity. The specific heat capacity of water is approximately 4.18 J/g°C. When in contact with skin, the heat energy transferred is determined by the mass of the water and the temperature difference.
03

Understand Steam and Its Latent Heat

Steam at 100°C not only has the energy equivalent to water at 100°C, but it also includes latent heat of vaporization. The latent heat of vaporization for water is 2260 J/g. This means when steam comes in contact with the skin and condenses into water, it releases a substantial amount of heat in addition to the heat it already possesses.
04

Compare Heat Transfer Between Liquid Water and Steam

When considering burns, the severity is determined by the total heat energy transferred. Steam at 100°C transfers both the latent heat of vaporization and the heat due to its temperature. Therefore, the total heat transferred by steam is the sum of the heat from condensing and the heat of the resultant water.
05

Conclude Based on Energy Transfer

Steam at 100°C causes a more severe burn compared to liquid water at 100°C because steam has higher energy content due to latent heat of vaporization and transfers more heat upon contact.

Unlock Step-by-Step Solutions & Ace Your Exams!

  • Full Textbook Solutions

    Get detailed explanations and key concepts

  • Unlimited Al creation

    Al flashcards, explanations, exams and more...

  • Ads-free access

    To over 500 millions flashcards

  • Money-back guarantee

    We refund you if you fail your exam.

Start your free trial

Over 30 million students worldwide already upgrade their learning with Vaia!

Key Concepts

These are the key concepts you need to understand to accurately answer the question.

latent heat of vaporization
The concept of the latent heat of vaporization is crucial in understanding why steam causes more severe burns than liquid water, even if both are at the same temperature of 100°C. Latent heat is the energy required to change the phase of a substance without changing its temperature. For water, the latent heat of vaporization is 2260 J/g. This means that when steam at 100°C comes in contact with the skin and condenses into liquid water, it releases 2260 J of energy for each gram of steam, on top of the energy it already carries due to its temperature.
specific heat capacity
Specific heat capacity refers to the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of a unit mass of a substance by one degree Celsius. For water, the specific heat capacity is 4.18 J/g°C. This property helps us understand how much heat liquid water at 100°C will transfer to the skin. When water at this temperature contacts the skin, it will transfer its thermal energy according to its specific heat capacity and temperature difference. Although significant, this heat transfer by liquid water is less than the combined heat released by steam due to latent heat and temperature energy.
energy transfer
Energy transfer in this context refers to the movement of heat energy from steam or liquid water to the skin, potentially causing burns. Steam at 100°C has two components of energy transfer: the heat associated with its temperature and the latent heat of vaporization. As steam condenses into water on the skin, it releases a large amount of energy due to the latent heat. Then, as this water cools down from 100°C to skin temperature, it further transfers heat, making the burn more severe. Meanwhile, liquid water at 100°C only transfers heat according to its specific heat capacity, resulting in less severe burns.

One App. One Place for Learning.

All the tools & learning materials you need for study success - in one app.

Get started for free

Most popular questions from this chapter

A student (with slow reflexes) puts his hand in a stream of steam at \(100 .^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\) until \(1.5 \mathrm{~g}\) of water have condensed. If the water then cools to room temperature \(\left(20.0^{\circ} \mathrm{C}\right)\), how many joules have been absorbed by the student's hand?

You work in a hardware store and notice that whenever you spill water on the waxed floors it tends to bead up and stay fairly well confined. When you spill hexane, however, it spreads over the entire floor and is a big mess to clean up. Based on your knowledge of adhesive and cohesive forces, explain this difference in behavior.

You buy a box of borax \(\left(\mathrm{Na}_{2} \mathrm{~B}_{4} \mathrm{O}_{7} \cdot 10 \mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}\right)\) from the corner market in Phoenix, Arizona, in the middle of the summer. You open up the box and pour the borax into a weighed beaker. After all, you do want to be sure that you were not cheated by the manufacturer. You are distracted from your task and do not get back to weigh the filled beaker for several days. Upon weighing the beaker, you get the following data from the \(5.0-\mathrm{lb}\) box of borax. Empty beaker \(\quad 492.5 \mathrm{~g}\) Filled beaker \(\quad 2467.4 \mathrm{~g}\) Were you cheated by the manufacturer? Why or why not?

What are dispersion forces? Which has greater dispersion forces, \(\mathrm{C}_{3} \mathrm{H}_{8}\) or \(\mathrm{C}_{9} \mathrm{H}_{20}\) ? Justify your answer.

Cobalt(II) chloride hexahydrate, \(\mathrm{CoCl}_{2} \cdot 6 \mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}\), is often used as a humidity indicator. This is due to the fact that the hydrate is a deep magenta color while the anhydrous form is a pale blue. As the humidity level changes, the color changes as well. What is the mass percent water in cobalt(II) hexahydrate?
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Chemistry Textbooks

Nuclear Chemistry

Read Explanation

Organic Chemistry

Read Explanation

Chemical Reactions

Read Explanation

Physical Chemistry

Read Explanation

The Earths Atmosphere

Read Explanation

Chemical Analysis

Read Explanation
View all explanations

What do you think about this solution?

We value your feedback to improve our textbook solutions.

Study anywhere. Anytime. Across all devices.

Sign-up for free