Question

Why does the temp. Remain constant during the melting of ice even though heat is supplied continuously?

Answer 1

When something changes phase from solid to liquid it takes energy to break the intermolecular interactions. In ice the interactions are the strongest and that is why it is hard. The heat supplied is used for overcoming these particle particle attraction forces. The solid absorbs heat energy without any change in temperature. This heat energy is called Latent heat. The amount of heat consumed in the conversion of a unit mass of a solid into its liquid state without undergoing a change in temperature is called the latent heat of fusion. Thus the temperature remains constant during the melting of ice.