Log out Go to App
Go to App

Learning Materials

Features

Discover

Chapter 8: Problem 4

When liquid propane evaporates into a gas in the tank of a propane grill, the tank that contains that liquid propane becomes colder. Why?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The tank becomes colder because the evaporating propane absorbs heat, thus lowering the temperature of the tank.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Process

When a liquid evaporates into a gas, it undergoes a phase change. For propane, this means going from a liquid to a gaseous state.
02

Identify Energy Requirements

Evaporation requires energy to overcome the intermolecular forces holding the liquid together. This energy is called the heat of vaporization.
03

Source of Energy

To evaporate, the liquid propane absorbs heat from its surroundings. In this case, the surroundings are the propane tank and the liquid propane itself.
04

Heat Transfer

As the liquid propane absorbs heat to evaporate, it removes thermal energy from the tank, causing the temperature of the tank and the remaining liquid propane to decrease.
05

Conclusion

The tank becomes colder because the evaporating propane absorbs heat, thus lowering the temperature of the tank.

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.

Heat of Vaporization
When we talk about the heat of vaporization, we refer to the amount of energy required to turn a liquid into a gas. This energy is needed to overcome the forces that hold the liquid molecules together. For propane, this means moving its molecules from a liquid state, where they are closely packed, to a gaseous state, where they are much more spread out and move freely.
This energy does not come out of nowhere. The propane must absorb heat from its surroundings to achieve this phase change. This is important because it directly affects the temperature of the environment where the phase change happens.
Evaporation Process
The evaporation process involves a liquid absorbing heat and turning into a gas. For propane, the molecules need enough energy to break free from the liquid state. This is where the heat of vaporization comes in.
Think of the propane molecules as friends holding hands in a circle. To break free and run around (turn into a gas), they need to unlink their hands. This unlinking requires energy, which they get from their surroundings. In a propane tank, the surrounding area is the tank itself and the liquid propane still inside.
  • Propane absorbs heat from its environment
  • This energy helps molecules break their bonds
  • Molecules turn into gas, leaving the remaining liquid cooler
This explains why the propane tank gets colder as liquid propane evaporates inside it.
Thermal Energy Transfer
Thermal energy transfer is all about how heat moves from one place to another. In the case of a propane grill, when the liquid propane evaporates, it absorbs heat from its surroundings. This heat transfer cools down the tank.
  • Energy transfers from warmer to cooler areas
  • Propane needs energy to evaporate
  • This energy comes from the surrounding tank walls and remaining liquid propane
Once the propane absorbs enough energy to change from liquid to gas, it leaves the surroundings (the tank) colder. This is why you feel cold when handling a propane tank that is being used. The process is a basic principle of heat transfer, showing how energy moves to maintain balance.

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

People have tried for centuries to build machines that provide endless outputs of useful, ordered energy without any inputs of ordered energy. Unfortunately, such perpetual motion machines violate the laws of thermodynamics. If such a machine is thermally isolated, which law does it violate? What if it’s not thermally isolated?

Homes located in mild climates are often heated by heat pumps during the winter. Home heat pumps are essentially air conditioners run backward. They extract heat from the cold outdoor air and release it to the warm indoor air. Why are heat pumps most effective in mild weather, when the outdoor air isn’t too cold?

If you put cold water into a blender and mix it rapidly for several minutes, the water will become warm. From where does the additional thermal energy come?
See all solutions

Recommended explanations on Physics Textbooks

Medical Physics

Read Explanation

Electricity and Magnetism

Read Explanation

Rotational Dynamics

Read Explanation

Scientific Method Physics

Read Explanation

Oscillations

Read Explanation

Fundamentals of Physics

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