Chemistry / Unit 8 Chem 1367 short lesson, about 20 seconds
The "Breaking Bonds" Misreading of Boiling
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The idea
Calling boiling water "breaking its bonds" misapplies the covalent sense of "bond" to the weaker hydrogen bonds actually broken between molecules.
In practice
A student saying boiling water "breaks the bonds in H2O" has, without meaning to, described a chemical decomposition, not a phase change.
Where people slip
Water molecules leaving a boiling pot are still H2O — only the hydrogen bonds between them gave way.
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