Define specific latent heat of vaporization. Explain why water's specific latent heat of vaporization is much larger than its specific heat capacity. Identify the thermometric property of a mercury th

i) Specific latent heat of vaporization is the amount of heat energy required to change a unit mass of a substance from its liquid state to its gaseous state at a constant temperature (its boiling point) and standard atmospheric pressure.

ii) The specific latent heat of vaporization of water is much larger than its specific heat capacity because vaporization involves breaking strong intermolecular bonds (hydrogen bonds in water) and significantly increasing the separation between molecules, which requires a substantial amount of energy. Specific heat capacity, however, only involves increasing the kinetic energy of molecules to raise the temperature without changing the state.