Boiling interface: a guided discovery teaching activitiy

Abstract

I n basic chemistry courses, it is common to introduce students to the concepts of vapor pressure and boiling temperature for a liquid substance in its pure state at the initial stages of course development. These macroscopic characteristics of substances are intimately related to molecular properties that govern the interactions between molecules (Tro, 2014). The boiling point is defined as the temperature at which the vapor pressure of the substance equals the external pressure. This point correlates with the boiling phenomenon, which involves the formation of bubbles within the bulk of the liquid.