Change of State

1. Five different solids, each of mass 1 kg, are heated by identical

immersion heaters for 10 minutes. The following graphs shows their
heating curves. Assuming no loss in heat, which solid has the greatest
specific latent heat of fusion ? (1988-11)

Ans.: E

2. A beaker of ether is placed in a dish of water. When air is bubbled

through the ether, the water freezes because (1989-17)

A. energy required to force air through the ether.

B. the speed of the molecules of ether is increased by the process
of bubbling.
C. the specific heat capacity of air is very large.
D. the freezing point of ether is very low.
E. ether absorbs energy from the water during evaporation.

Change of State –1– By S.H.Lee

3.

The figure above shows an experiment to determine the specific latent

heat of fusion of ice. The result obtained is lower than the expected
one. The main reason could be that (1989-18)

A. there is heat gain from the surroundings.

B. there is heat loss to the surroundings.
C. there is some water remaining in the funnel, not falling into
the beaker.
D. the temperature of ice is below 0°C.
E. the heater is not in good contact with ice.

4. An immersion heater is used to heat a cup of water. It takes 10 minutes

to bring the water from 20C to its boiling point 100C. Find the time
taken for the heater to vaporize the boiling water completely.
(Given : Specific heat capacity of water = 4200 J kg1 K1,
specific latent heat of vaporization of water
= 2.268  106 J kg1.) (1992-17)

A. 54 minutes
B. 60 minutes
C. 67.5 minutes
D. 77.5 minutes
E. It cannot be determined since the mass of water is not given

Change of State –2– By S.H.Lee

5.

The above apparatus is used to find the specific latent heat of

vaporization of water. Which of the following is NOT correct ?
(1990-21)
A. Cover the beaker with a lid.
B. Use a suitable heater to prevent boiling the water too
vigorously.
C. Surround the beaker with some cotton.
D. Repeat the experiment several times and take the mean of the
results.
E. Prevent the water drops which condense on the upper part of
the heater from dropping back into the beaker.

6. The melting point of copper is 1080C and its specific latent heat of
fusion is 2.1  105 J kg1. How much energy is needed to melt 0.5 kg
of copper at its melting point ? (1995-22)

2.1  10 5
A. J
0.5
B. 0.5  2.1  105 J
2.1  10 5
C. J
0.5  1080
0.5  2.1  10 5
D. J
1080
E. 0.5  2.1  105  1080 J

Change of State –3– By S.H.Lee

7.

A 20 W heater is used to melt a solid. A graph of temperature  against

time t is plotted as shown above. If a 40 W heater is used, which graph
(using the same scale) would be obtained ? (1990-22)
Ans.: E

Change of State –4– By S.H.Lee

8.

A 400 W electric heater is used to heat 0.4 kg of a solid. The

temperature-time graph of the substance is shown above. The specific
latent heat of fusion of the substance is (1991-18)

A. 64 kJ kg1.
B. 160 kJ kg1.
C. 400 kJ kg1.
D. 500 kJ kg1.
E. 600 kJ kg1.

Change of State –5– By S.H.Lee

9.

The above apparatus is used to find the specific latent heat of fusion of
ice. Which of the following is an essential precaution to ensure an
accurate result ? (1994-17)

A. Crushed ice should be used.

B. The ice used should be just taken from the refrigerator so that
its temperature is well below 0 C.
C. The amount of ice used in funnel X should be larger than that
in Y.
D. The two funnels should be wrapped in insulating material.
E. The two beakers should be made of insulating material.

Change of State –6– By S.H.Lee

(For Questions 10 and 11.) The following apparatus is used to find the
specific latent heat of vaporization of a liquid.

10. When the liquid boils, the reading of the balance is taken. After 200 s,
the reading of the balance decreases by 0.02 kg. The power output of
the heater is 150 W. If 20% of the energy supplied is lost to the
surroundings, find the specific latent heat of vaporization of the liquid.
(1996-19)
A. 120 J kg1
B. 480 J kg1
C. 3.0  105 J kg1
D. 1.2  106 J kg1
E. 1.5  106 J kg1

11. Which of the following can improve the accuracy of the experiment ?
(1996-20)
(1) covering the beaker with a lid
(2) completely immersing the heating coil in liquid
(3) stirring the liquid throughout the experiment

A. (1) only
B. (2) only
C. (1) and (3) only
D. (2) and (3) only
E. (1), (2) and (3)

Change of State –7– By S.H.Lee

12.

Two solid substances X and Y of equal mass are separately heated by

two identical heaters. The above graph shows the variation of the
temperatures of the substances with time. Which of the following
statements is/are correct ? (1996-21)

(1) The melting point of X is higher than that of Y.

(2) The specific heat capacity of X is smaller than that of Y.
(3) The specific latent heat of fusion of X is smaller than that of Y.

A. (1) only
B. (3) only
C. (1) and (2) only
D. (2) and (3) only
E. (1), (2) and (3)

Change of State –8– By S.H.Lee

13.

The above set-up can be used to find the specific latent heat of fusion
of ice. Which of the following is not an essential precaution to ensure
an accurate result ? (1998-20)

A. using crushed ice in the experiment

B. using melting ice in the experiment
C. inserting the immersion heater into the ice completely
D. using the same amount of ice in both funnels
E. covering the funnels with lids

14. A block of melting ice with mass 0.02 kg is put into a polystyrene cup
containing 0.3 kg of water with initial temperature 20C. After the
mixture is stirred well, the ice block melts completely and the final
temperature of the water becomes 14C. Which of the following
equations can be used to find the specific latent heat of fusion of ice, L
? (1998-22)
(Given : Specific heat capacity of water = 4200 J kg 1 K1)

A. 0.3  4200  6 = 0.02 L

B. 0.3  4200  6 = 0.02 L  0.02  4200  6
C. 0.3  4200  6 = 0.02 L + 0.02  4200  6
D. 0.3  4200  6 = (0.02 L + 0.02  4200)  14
E. 0.3  4200  6 = 0.02 L + 0.02  4200  14

Change of State –9– By S.H.Lee

 15. When a body is changing C When a body is changing from
from solid state to liquid solid state to liquid state, its
state, its temperature internal energy remains
remains unchanged. unchanged.
(1993-43)

16. Steam at 100°C causes more A A large amount of latent heat

severe burns to the skin than of vaporization is released
boiling water at the same when steam condenses.
temperature.
(1995-42)

Change of State –10– By S.H.Lee