Consider the following statements:
Statement I: The temperature contrast between continents and oceans is greater during summer than in winter.
Statements II: The specific heat of water is more than that of land surface.
Which one of the following is correct in respect of the above statements?
(a) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II is the correct explanation for Statement I
(b) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct and Statement II is not the correct explanation for Statement I
(c) Statement I is correct but Statement II is incorrect
(d) Statement I is incorrect but Statement II is correct
Ans: d
Explanation:
In summer, the continents manufacture warm rather than cold air, and there is much less contrast between temperatures than in winter.
Hence, statement 1 is incorrect.
Specific heat is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of a substance by a certain amount. Water has a relatively high specific heat compared to land surfaces. This means that it takes a larger amount of heat energy to raise the temperature of water compared to an equal mass of land surface material by the same amount. The high specific heat of water is due to its molecular structure and the presence of hydrogen bonding, which allows water to absorb and store a significant amount of heat energy. Land surfaces are heated more quickly than water surfaces because of the higher specific heat of water. In other words, it requires only one-third as much energy to raise the temperature of a given volume of land by 10F as it does for an equal volume of water.
Hence, statement 2 is correct.
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