Final answer:
Heating water on a stove transfers energy to the water, increasing the kinetic energy of water molecules until they reach the boiling point at 100°C. Beyond this point, additional energy breaks intermolecular forces, turning water into steam, with temperature constant during this phase change. The system's entropy rises as the water transitions from a liquid to a gas.
Step-by-step explanation:
When you heat a pot of water on the stove, the process of energy transfer from the stove to the water can be explained through physics. Initially, the heat from the stove increases the temperature of the water by imparting kinetic energy to the water molecules, making them move faster. Upon reaching the boiling point of 100°C, the water's temperature remains constant, and the additional energy goes into breaking the intermolecular forces, allowing the molecules to transition from a liquid phase to a gaseous phase, known as steam.
As more heat is applied at the boiling point, the movement of water molecules intensifies, and they begin to rapidly escape the liquid as gas. This phase transition process maintains a constant temperature due to the energy required to break the molecular bonds being equivalent to the energy input from the stove. The increased motion and subsequent escape of water molecules as gas indicate an increase in the entropy of the system, which is a measure of disorder, reflecting the molecules' movement from a more ordered liquid state to a more disordered gaseous state.