Under these conditions, which of the following statements is true? under these conditions, which of the following statements is true? steam burns the skin worse than hot water because the thermal conductivity of steam is much higher than that of liquid water. steam burns the skin worse than hot water because the heat of vaporization is released as well. hot water burns the skin worse than steam because the thermal conductivity of hot water is much higher than that of steam. hot water and steam both burn skin about equally badly.