Which of the following best explains a person suffers more severe burns when his skin is exposed to steam than when boiling water is poured onto his skin?
steam is at a higher temperature than boiling water
steam posses greater heat energy per unit-mass than boiling water
steam spreads more easily over a wider area of the skin than boiling water
steam panetrates more easily over a wider area of the skin than boiling water
the specific latent heat of vaporization is released in changing from boiling water to steam
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The correct answer is B. steam posses greater heat energy per unit-mass than boiling water. This is because steam contains not only the heat of boiling water, but also the latent heat of vaporization, which is the amount of heat required to change water from liquid to gas. When steam touches the skin, it condenses back to liquid and releases this latent heat, which transfers more thermal energy to the skin than boiling water. This can cause more severe and deeper burns than boiling water, which only transfers its sensible heat (the heat that changes the temperature of a substance) to the skin.
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