Chapter 17, Problem 61A

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation: The reason why ice melts at without an increase in temperature is to be found.

Concept Introduction: Latent heat of fusion is the amount of energy required to transform a unit mass of the substance from the solid state to the liquid state.

Answer to Problem 61A

The heat is used to change the state and not in increasing the temperature.

Explanation of Solution

The temperature at which a substance transforms from a solid to a liquid state is known as its melting point. The heat applied to a substance at its melting point is used to change the substance's state; until all the bonds keeping the molecules together in a crystal structure have been dissolved, nothing can be done to raise the kinetic energy of the molecules in the liquid state. Thus, the temperature doesn't change until all the ice has melted.