Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
Heat of freezing is the amount of heat energy that must be removed from a liquid at its freezing point to freeze it into a solid, with no change in temperature.
This is the specific temperature at which a substance changes from liquid to solid - just like how there's an ideal temperature for your juice to turn into a popsicle!
This refers to chemical reactions where heat is released - imagine if your popsicle could somehow give off coldness as it freezes!
Latent Heat of Fusion: The amount of heat absorbed or released during melting or freezing - think about how much 'coldness' you'd need to add or remove to make or melt your popsicle!