Question

Steam at $100^\circ C$ causes more serves burns than the water at the same temperature because:
A.Steam is gas
B.Steam is highly combustible
C.Steam can provide more heat
D.Steam can not do more work

Answer 1

Hint: When water is heated at boiling point, the invisible vapour received is known as steam and we can also define steam as the mist formed when we perform the condensation of water vapour.

Complete step by step answer:
The conversion of water from a liquid state to a gaseous state is known as a phase change and it requires more energy than the energy required for temperature change. Latent heat of vaporization is defined as the energy required in phase change of water from liquid to gaseous state. This energy is absorbed by the water and does not use to change the temperature of the liquid. When our skin comes in contact with steam, a large amount of energy is realized as it is condensed into a liquid, undergoing a phase change. This energy release causes more serves to burn at $100^\circ C$ than the water at the same temperature. In the case of boiling water, when our skin comes in contact with it, there would be a decrease in temperature but there would not phase change. So we can say the correct reason is steam can provide more heat.
Hence the correct answer is option C.

Note:
Steam is utilized for different purposes such as:
To avoid the use of harmful chemical agents, steam is used as a sterilization agent in agriculture.
Steam is used for domestic purposes such as cooking of vegetables, cleaning of fabrics, carpets, etc due to its capacity to heat transfer.
Steam is also utilized for the generation of electricity by running the turbines.