As ice melts at standard pressure, its temperature remains at 0°C until it has completely melted. Its potential energy:

increases
decreases
remains the same

increases

Increases

Well, isn't that a cool question? When ice is melting at standard pressure, its temperature stays at 0°C, which means it doesn't change. So, the potential energy of the ice remains the same. It's just chilling there, keeping its energy levels steady like a cool cucumber.

To determine how the potential energy of ice changes as it melts at standard pressure, we need to understand the concept of potential energy and the behavior of water during phase changes.

Potential energy refers to the stored energy of an object due to its position or state. It can take various forms, such as gravitational potential energy, elastic potential energy, or chemical potential energy.

When it comes to ice melting at standard pressure, the potential energy of the ice remains the same. This is because the potential energy associated with the molecular arrangement of the ice remains constant during the phase change. The particles in ice are still arranged in a structured lattice, albeit in a solid state, and this arrangement remains the same as the ice melts.

During the melting process, the increase in thermal energy from the surroundings is used to weaken the intermolecular forces holding the ice particles together. As more thermal energy is supplied, the ice molecules gain enough energy to break free from these forces, transitioning from a solid to a liquid state. This process is endothermic, meaning it requires energy input.

Although the temperature of the melting ice remains at 0°C until complete melting occurs, the added thermal energy is used to overcome intermolecular forces rather than increasing the kinetic energy of the molecules, resulting in a phase change but no temperature change.

Therefore, the potential energy of ice remains the same as it melts at standard pressure, while the internal energy is increased due to the absorption of thermal energy.

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