Question

A pure substance has - melting and boling point

Answer 1

Pure, crystalline solids have a characteristic melting point, the temperature at which the solid melts to become a liquid. The transition between the solid and the liquid is so sharp for small samples of a pure substance that melting points can be measured to 0.1oC. The melting point of solid oxygen, for example, is -218.4oC.

Liquids have a characteristic temperature at which they turn into solids, known as their freezing point. In theory, the melting point of a solid should be the same as the freezing point of the liquid. In practice, small differences between these quantities can be observed.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to heat a solid above its melting point because the heat that enters the solid at its melting point is used to convert the solid into a liquid. It is possible, however, to cool some liquids to temperatures below their freezing points without forming a solid. When this is done, the liquid is said to be supercooled.

An example of a supercooled liquid can be made by heating solid sodium acetate trihydrate (NaCH3CO2 3 H2O). When this solid melts, the sodium acetate dissolves in the water that was trapped in the crystal to form a solution. When the solution cools to room temperature, it should solidify. But it often doesn't. If a small crystal of sodium acetate trihydrate is added to the liquid, however, the contents of the flask solidify within seconds.

A liquid can become supercooled because the particles in a solid are packed in a regular structure that is characteristic of that particular substance. Some of these solids form very easily; others do not. Some need a particle of dust, or a seed crystal, to act as a site on which the crystal can grow. In order to form crystals of sodium acetate trihydrate, Na+ ions, CH3CO2- ions, and water molecules must come together in the proper orientation. It is difficult for these particles to organize themselves, but a seed crystal can provide the framework on which the proper arrangement of ions and water molecules can grow.