Chemistry / Unit 8 Chem 1410 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Boiling Point from Vapor Pressure
Captions available
The idea
A liquid boils at the temperature where its equilibrium vapor pressure equals the pressure of its surroundings.
In practice
Water at a mountain campsite with lower atmospheric pressure reaches its boiling vapor pressure at a temperature below 100 °C.
Where people slip
Boiling point is not a fixed property of a substance alone — it moves with surrounding pressure, only fixed once that pressure is specified.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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