(a) Briefly describe the phenomena of superheating and supercooling. (b) Why do these phenomena occur?

Superheating is the process of heating a liquid above its boiling point without it turning into a vapor, while supercooling refers to cooling a liquid below its freezing point without it turning into a solid. It is essential to note that both these phenomena are temporary and unstable states; eventually, the substances will turn into their respective phases (vapor for superheating and solid for supercooling).

Superheating and supercooling occur due to the absence of nucleation sites. Nucleation sites are areas where the phase transition process (from liquid to vapor or liquid to solid) can begin. These sites can be impurities, scratches, or any other irregularities in the container holding the liquid. In the case of superheating, the absence of nucleation sites means that the liquid molecules do not have a place to start forming vapor bubbles necessary for boiling. This creates an unstable situation where the liquid is at a higher temperature than its boiling point. When it finally reaches a nucleation site (or gets disturbed), it can boil spontaneously and violently. On the other hand, supercooling happens when a liquid is cooled below its freezing point, but no nucleation sites are available for the formation of solid crystals. As a result, the liquid remains in a metastable state even though it is colder than its freezing point. When a nucleation site is introduced or the liquid gets disturbed, it can rapidly solidify. To summarize, superheating and supercooling occur due to the absence of nucleation sites, which prevent the prompt phase transition of a liquid to a vapor (boiling) or a solid (freezing).