A typical heating curve consists of a horizontal axis representing time and a vertical axis representing temperature. The curve is divided into distinct segments, each corresponding to a specific phase of the substance.

During heating, the substance undergoes different phase transitions, such as solid to liquid (melting), liquid to gas (vaporization), or solid to gas (sublimation), depending on its properties. Each phase transition occurs at a specific temperature known as the melting point, boiling point, or sublimation point, respectively.

The heating curve exhibits plateaus or flat sections corresponding to these phase transitions. During a plateau, the temperature remains constant despite the continuous addition of heat. This is because the added heat is used to break the intermolecular forces holding the particles together and convert the substance from one phase to another. Once the phase transition is complete, the temperature begins to rise again until the next transition occurs.

The slope of the heating curve represents the rate at which the substance absorbs heat. Steeper slopes indicate a higher heat transfer rate, while shallower slopes indicate a slower rate.

Heating curves provide valuable information about the thermal properties of substances, including their specific heat capacities, latent heats of fusion and vaporization, and temperature ranges over which phase transitions occur. These properties can vary between different substances and are crucial for understanding and predicting their behavior during heating or cooling processes.