Water's temperature stability

Steps:

• Identify the question: property causing minimal temperature fluctuations in oceans and cell cytoplasm.
• Recall specific heat capacity: heat energy needed to raise 1g of substance by 1°C.
• Note water's high value (4.18 J/g°C) resists temperature changes with heat absorption/release.
• Compare options: only high specific heat fits stability in liquid water.

Why C is correct:

• High specific heat capacity requires large heat input/output for small temperature changes, stabilizing oceans and cytoplasm per the formula Q = mcΔT (high c means low ΔT for given Q).

Why the others are wrong:

• A: High latent heat of vaporization aids evaporation cooling but involves phase change, not liquid temperature stability.
• B: Water has high (not low) specific heat capacity; low would cause large temperature swings.
• D: Water has high (not low) latent heat of vaporization; irrelevant to non-phase-change temperature regulation.

Final answer: C