Question

Elaborate the reason that the heat of vaporization of water is so much greater than its heat of fusion. A) The potential energy of fusion represents a greater change of stored energy. B) Liquid water is stabilized by strong intermolecular forces between the molecules. C) The kinetic energy of the water molecules is so much greater in the liquid state. D) The bonding forces for solid water are much stronger than the bonding in the liquid.

Answer 1

I believe the answer is B. Liquid water is stabilized by strong inter-molecular forces between the molecules. This is why the energy needed to completely  separate the molecules converting to gas is much greater than that of converting a solid into liquid. The latent heat of vaporization will have to be higher for the liquid to become a gas.