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Question

What happens to melting point when pressure is applied?

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Solution

Dear Student

Melting can be defined as a process of change of state in which solid changes into a liquid. It can also be defined as the temperature at which both the solid and the liquid phase remains in equilibrium. Pressure is known to decrease the volume of a substance, therefore when pressure is applied on a substance which is undergoing phase change, i.e., from solid to liquid it would definitely lead to a disturbance in the equilibrium of the system. According to the Le-Chatlier's Principle, the position of the equilibrium will tend to change in such a way to undo the change in pressure by decreasing the volume of the substance. Solids, like wax have a lower volume because solids have higher density, thus the system need to remain in the solid state to undo the pressure applied, thereby increasing the melting point.
If the case of ice (solid) is considered then because density of ice is lower than that of water, therefore volume of ice will be more than that of water for a given mass of water . Also, it is known that volume of water expands on freezing, therefore when pressure is applied at equilibrium on this system, a decrease in volume is witnessed. Thus, the system tends to assume a low volume state and change into liquid thus, the melting point gets decreased.
Regards

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