What process enables water to transfer heat due to its high specific heat?

The correct answer is evaporation. This process allows water to effectively transfer heat due to its high specific heat, which is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a substance. Water's high specific heat means it can absorb and store a large amount of heat energy before its temperature increases significantly.

During evaporation, water molecules at the surface gain enough energy to change from a liquid to a gas. As these molecules escape, they take heat energy with them, which results in a cooling effect on the remaining liquid water. This property of evaporation is crucial in natural environments, such as in cooling effects from sweating in humans or the way bodies of water can moderate climate temperatures.

Other processes listed do not facilitate heat transfer in the same way. For example, condensation involves gas turning to liquid and releases heat rather than transferring it away. Boiling involves rapid vaporization but is less efficient at heat transfer compared to evaporation due to the energy at play in producing bubbles and more rapid temperature changes. Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction involving the breaking down of compounds with the addition of water and is unrelated to the transfer of heat.