I. Water is called the universal solvent because it can dissolve many substances. When water boils, the forces that cause the molecules to stay together, are overcome and water can become a gas.
Molecules move fast enough to escape the surface.
The vapor form of water is steam. Steam that is not under pressure has the same temperature as boiling water. There is a certain amount of heat needed to change the state of water and it is absorbed into the steam without raising its temperature. This is called latent heat of vaporization . This latent heat is released when the steam condenses back to water.