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What Are The High Specific Heat Of Water

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Water
Water has a high specific heat that keeps the temperature relatively constant. The specific heat of a substance is the amount of heat it takes to raise or lower the temperature of one gram by one calorie. Compared to other substances water has a relatively high specific heat and changes its temperature less frequently. Water molecules are polar, the electrons shared in the covalent bonds are not distributed equally throughout the molecule resulting in the oxygen region of the molecule having a slightly negative charge while the hydrogen regions of the molecule have a slight positive charge because of it’s polarity water is able to form hydrogen bonds. The reason for water’s high specific heat is these hydrogen bonds. Water makes and breaks hydrogen bonds quickly and constantly. To break the hydrogen bonds heat must be absorbed and so much of the calorie will go into breaking the hydrogen bonds rather than changing the temperature of the water. The high specific heat of water keeps temperature stable because while heat is needed to break hydrogen bonds, heat is released when forming hydrogen bonds, so while heat is being absorbed from the atmosphere it is also being released into the atmosphere in relatively the same concentration keeping the temperature stable. The high specific heat of water …show more content…

This happens because the molecules with the most kinetic energy, the ones with the highest temperature, are the first to evaporate. When all the “hottest” molecules evaporate from the liquid the molecules remaining are the coolest. Like the high specific heat of water, evaporative cooling also contributes to keeping temperatures in ecosystems and organisms livable. Evaporative cooling can prevent the human body from overheating by sweat. The “hottest” molecules will evaporate from the body first leaving behind “cooler” ones keeping the body at a lower

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