Final answer:
The boiling point of water can vary depending on atmospheric pressure; below 1 atm, water boils at less than 100°C. Atmospheric pressure differences likely caused the observed boiling point of 96°C in the lab.
Step-by-step explanation:
The observation that water is boiling at 96°C is an indication that the conditions during the student's lab experiment are different from the standard conditions in which water boils at 100°C. The normal boiling point of water is indeed 100°C at a pressure of 1.00 atm (atmospheric pressure). However, the boiling point can change with variations in atmospheric pressure, a phenomenon explained by the kinetic molecular theory. At pressures lower than 1 atm, water will boil at temperatures lower than 100°C because the atmospheric pressure is not as great, which requires less energy for the water molecules to escape from the liquid into the gaseous state. Conversely, water would boil at a temperature higher than 100°C if it was subjected to pressures above 1 atm. This explains why the boiling point is different in the student's experiment.
An example of a liquid that boils at a temperature higher than the boiling point of water is ethylene glycol, which boils at around 197°C.