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QPage 46: Q8: HC Verma: Concepts of Physics - Volume 2 Calorimetry Page 46: Q8 Solution: A person's skin is more severely burnt when put in contact with …

⚠️ Common Exam Traps & Conceptual Pitfalls

Students often erroneously assume that because steam and water are at the same temperature ($100^circ ext{C}$), they possess the same thermal energy. You must recognize that steam contains additional latent heat of vaporization, making its total internal energy significantly higher than that of the liquid phase at the same temperature.

A person's skin is more severely burnt when put in contact with 1 g of steam at 100�C than when put in contact with 1 g of water at 100�C. Explain.

Step-by-Step Verified Solution

**Answer:** Steam has greater energy than boiling water due to latent heat of vapourisation. The internal energy of the vapour at 100�C is greater than the internal energy of the boiling water at the same temperature. Thus, steam burns the skin more severely than boiling water.[citation:1][citation:13]

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