Answer to Question #18831 in Inorganic Chemistry for Ahmed Ali

Question

What is it meant by boiling and melting for gases?

Answer 1

What is it meant by boiling and melting for gases?

The boiling point is the temperature at which something changes states between gas and liquid - thus, whether or not something is a gas is irrelevant to the boiling point. The boiling point can also be referred to as the point of condensation - condensation is the point at which a gas becomes a liquid, boiling when a liquid becomes a gas.

The melting point is the temperature at which a substance changes states between liquid and solid - can also be known as the freezing point or point of solidification.

As an example, nitrogen is over 70% of our atmosphere, and is a gas at room temperature (usually around 20 degrees Celsius). However, its "boiling point" is -195 degrees Celsius. If you cool it all the way down to -195, it would condense - become a liquid. If you managed to cool it beyond that, to -215 degrees Celsius it would become a solid.

So, the "boiling" and "melting" points are simply the same as the point of condensation and freezing point.