What happens to water when it is heated to a boiling point?

When water is heated to its boiling point, it undergoes a phase transition from liquid to gas known as boiling. At this temperature, the water molecules gain sufficient energy to overcome intermolecular forces, allowing them to escape into the air as water vapor. This process is characterized by the formation of bubbles, which is what we observe when water is boiling on a stove.

While evaporation does occur at all temperatures, it is a surface phenomenon that can happen at any time, even at room temperature. Boiling specifically refers to the rapid vaporization of water at its boiling point, where the entire body of water reaches a temperature sufficient for bubbles to form throughout the liquid. Therefore, the correct understanding of what happens to water at its boiling point is that it boils.