Chapter 12, Problem 84A

To determine

To analyze: the situation when thermodynamic properties of the water were like other materials such as methanol.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

The specific heat of a substance is the amount of heat that is to be added to a substance in order to increasethe temperature of the substance by one-degree centigrade.

The heat of fusion of a substance is the amount of heat required to convert the substance from solid-state to the liquid state.

The heat of vaporization of a substance is the amount of heat required to convert the substance from liquid state to gaseous state.

	Specific heat (J/kg. K)	Heat of fusion (J/kg)	Heat of vaporization (J/kg)
water	4180	3.34x10 5	2.26x10 6
Methanol	2450	1.09x10 5	8.78x10 5

From the above table, it is clear that water has large specific heat, the heat of fusion and heat of vaporization.As these values for water are more, it has the capacity to store large amounts of heat without changing its temperature much.If the waters' thermodynamic properties are such,thenthe world would be completely different. The seasons, weather, and temperature of the world depend on the three states of water.

If water has methanol like thermodynamic properties, then the variation in the ocean and the lakes will be large, this affects the nearby regions.

Conclusion:

Hence, when thermodynamic properties of the water were like other materials such as methanol, then lots of changes can be observed.