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EK Lecture 5 question 108 pg 185
Korolos_5348
#1 Posted : Monday, July 06, 2020 1:35:10 PM
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Hello,

For question 108 I thought the answer would be either A. Substance A has larger molecules than substance B or B. Substance B has a lower boiling point than substance A. However, the correct answer is D. Would someone please explain why it would not be A for example because on page 181 it says that "larger molecules tend to have higher heat capacities" which makes this answer for question 108 seem confusing/contradictory.

Thank you in advance
INSTR_Katerina_102
#2 Posted : Monday, July 06, 2020 4:22:06 PM
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Hi,

This can be tricky, but recall that the MCAT wants you to select the best answer, and some answers can be partially correct.

If you think about water, it is not a large molecule - but because you can absorb heat from breaking H bonds - which allows you to absorb a lot of energy without increasing the average kinetic energy of particles and thereby the temperature of the sample.

The reason you would pick D over A is because D is an answer that is true in all cases - as heat capacity is the amount of energy a substance per the increase in temperature - there need to be other outlets for the energy.

A doesn't address this concept - so although it is correct, it doesn't get to the heart of the matter of what heat capacity is.

I understand that this is a bit unsatisfying as an answer, but it is this type of question that makes the MCAT quite tough as a test.

Please let me know if you need more clarification.
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