Question

Heating curves show changes in

Answers

GPT-4o mini
Heating curves illustrate the changes in temperature and state of a substance as it is heated. They typically show the following key aspects:

1. **Increase in Temperature**: As heat is applied to a solid, the temperature increases until it reaches its melting point.

2. **Phase Changes**: During phase transitions, such as melting (solid to liquid) and boiling (liquid to gas), temperature stays constant even though heat is being added. This is because the energy is used to overcome the intermolecular forces rather than increasing the temperature.

3. **Plateaus**: These flat sections on the curve correspond to the phase changes. For example, during melting, energy is used to change the state from solid to liquid without raising the temperature. A similar plateau occurs during boiling when it transitions from liquid to gas.

4. **Final State**: The curve concludes with the substance being heated as a gas, typically at a higher temperature than when it was a solid or liquid.

Overall, heating curves are a useful visual representation of how a substance behaves when it is heated and how temperature and phase change in response to heat input.

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