Question

What is the latent heat of condensation of water?

Answer 1

Hint: latent heat is the heat required to convert a substance from one phase to the other. Condensation of water is the process of conversion from gaseous form to liquid form. During the process of condensation of water, heat is released as the molecules come closer together and their kinetic energy decreases. Latent heat is the heat required per unit mass and is a constant quantity.

Complete answer:
The latent heat is also known as the hidden heat. It is the heat that does not change the temperature of a substance but rather changes its state. The latent heat of a substance is defined as the heat required per unit mass to change the state of a substance. Therefore,
$L=\dfrac{Q}{m}$
Here, $L$ is the latent heat
$Q$ is the total heat absorbed or released by the substance
$m$ is the mass of the substance
 Condensation of water means conversation of water in gaseous form to its liquid form, this means when water vapour is converted to liquid water. Heat is released when water vapour is converted to liquid. The latent heat required for condensation of water is $2260kJ\,k{{g}^{-1}}$.
Therefore, the latent heat of condensation of water is $2260kJ\,k{{g}^{-1}}$.

Note:
During phase change of a substance, the temperature remains constant. The latent heat is also a constant quantity; its value depends on the phase change and is different for different substances. The heat absorbed or released when unit mole of a substance undergoes phase change is called molar latent heat. The heat required to change from liquid to gaseous state of a substance is called the latent heat of vaporization.