What would occur if water were heated on the moon?

#"A. the water would rapidly vaporize;"#
#"B. boiling point of water WOULD decrease relative to that at 1 atm;"#
#"C. boiling point of water WOULD increase relative to that at 1 atm;"#
#"D. no conclusions may be drawn."#

Answer 1

#A.# ##The water sample will boil with alacrity.

The boiling point of any liquid is the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the liquid is equal to the ambient pressure, and bubbles of vapour form directly in the liquid. Normally, we speak of the normal boiling point, where the ambient pressure is #1*atm#.

But in a hard vacuum, like the one that exists on the moon, a liquid's boiling point would be much lower than its normal boiling point because less heat would be needed to achieve a vapour pressure that is equal to or greater than the external pressure. If you were to open a bottle of water on the moon, I imagine it would be similar to what happens when you open a can of soft drink that you've shaken up, like a fountain.

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Answer 2

Noah Aldrich

#A.# ##The water sample will boil with alacrity.

The boiling point of any liquid is the temperature at which the vapour pressure of the liquid is equal to the ambient pressure, and bubbles of vapour form directly in the liquid. Normally, we speak of the normal boiling point, where the ambient pressure is #1*atm#.

But in a hard vacuum, like the one that exists on the moon, a liquid's boiling point would be much lower than its normal boiling point because less heat would be needed to achieve a vapour pressure that is equal to or greater than the external pressure. If you were to open a bottle of water on the moon, I imagine it would be similar to what happens when you open a can of soft drink that you've shaken up, like a fountain.

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Answer 3

Naomi Aronson

Water on the moon would vaporize due to the low atmospheric pressure and lack of a significant atmosphere to retain it in liquid form.

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What would occur if water were heated on the moon?

#"A. the water would rapidly vaporize;"# #"B. boiling point of water WOULD decrease relative to that at 1 atm;"# #"C. boiling point of water WOULD increase relative to that at 1 atm;"# #"D. no conclusions may be drawn."#

#"A. the water would rapidly vaporize;"#
#"B. boiling point of water WOULD decrease relative to that at 1 atm;"#
#"C. boiling point of water WOULD increase relative to that at 1 atm;"#
#"D. no conclusions may be drawn."#