Answer to Question #80603 in Molecular Physics | Thermodynamics for rolivhuwa

Question

Describe the method used to obtain an accurate measurement of the boiling point of water on the ideal gas scale

Answer 1

The boiling point of water is 100 degrees Celsius. That would be 212 degrees Fahrenheit. At high altitudes, air pressure is lower, so it is easier for the water molecules to "escape" into the air as gas molecules. The normal boiling point of water is 99,97 degrees Celsius at a pressure of 1 atm (101.325 kPa)
If you want to determine boiling point of water, you put a pot on the stove, and put a thermometer in it. Then you start to heat it, and wait till you see a steady boil. Then read the thermometer. Boiling point varies, depending on pressure.
If the equilibrium is altered such that the gaseous form is favoured, then the boiling point will be lower as more water molecules will want to evaporate. One way to do this is to lower pressure. If you decrease the pressure on a container of water, there will be less air pressure at the surface of the solution, and more water molecules will spontaneously have sufficient energy to vaporise into gas. At high altitudes, such as a top the Himalayas, the boiling point of water approaches 90 degrees, 10 degrees lower than at sea level, for this very reason.
Clinical thermometers are not used to measure the temperature of boiling water! They have a range of about 35 °C to 43 °C and they will explode at a temperature of about 100 °C. Ordinary laboratory thermometers are used.