Latent Heat Flashcards

All 5 cards in this deck

What is latent heat?

The energy needed for a substance to change state.

True or false? While ice is melting at 0 °C, supplying more energy makes its temperature rise.

False. During a change of state the energy supplied changes the internal energy but not the temperature.

What happens to the internal energy of a substance while it changes state at constant temperature?

It increases (when melting or boiling), because the energy supplied is stored by the particles rather than raising the temperature.

Is energy absorbed or released when a gas condenses to a liquid?

Released — energy must be removed for a substance to condense or freeze.

True or false? If some energy is transferred to the surroundings during an experiment to measure specific latent heat, the value obtained for $L$ is too high.

True. Less energy than measured reaches the substance, so less mass changes state and $E \div m$ comes out too big.