Question

John wants to cook some macaroni and cheese, so he puts a pot of water on to boil. However, John notices that it is taking a long time for his water to boil. In order for water to change from a liquid to a gas, it must take on large amounts of heat. This is because

A. Water has a very high particle volume

B. Water has a high specific heat

C. Water has a low specific heat

D. It does not take a lot of energy to break the hydrogen bonds holding the water molecules together

Answer 1

The correct answer is

B. Water has a high specific heat.

Water specific heat or specific heat capacity represents the quantity of heat that is necessary to increase the temperature of a 1° Celsius per unit of mass of 1 kg of water.