Question

How does heat affect changes of state?

Answer 1

Increases in heat energy can break attractions between particles and trigger a change of state.

For example, when water freezes water molecules are held in a crystalline structure by hydrogen bonds that form between neighboring water molecules. As heat is added to ice, some of the hydrogen bonds will be broken. This will allow more and more water molecules to move freely and the ice will melt and transition into the liquid state.