Boiling Point of Molecules

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The physical properties of the boiling point of a molecule are directly related to the forces between the molecules. These are referred to as intermolecular forces. There are four main types of intermolecular forces that are between each molecule. Ionic bonds are the forces holding ions together in ionic bonds. This is where opposite charges are attracted to each other and are held in a crystalline lattice structure. In dipole bonds, the molecule has two ‘poles’; one pole of the molecule has a positive charge while the other pole is negatively charged. In solution, the molecules will orientate themselves so that the opposite’s charges attract each other. Induced dipole forces are essentially between non-polar molecules and are the weakest of the four bonds. Hydrogen bonding is one of the strongest intermolecular bonds. Hydrogen bonding is the force between one electronegative molecule to another. In this essay, we will be looking at the relative boiling points of two different compounds based on the intermolecular forces of the molecules. When a solution is heated, the temperature is increased and as it is increased, the kinetic energy between each of the molecules increases. This means that the molecular motion becomes so intense that the bonds between molecules break and become a gas. The moment the liquid turns to gas it is labelled as the boiling point. With this, the main principle of the boiling point of a molecule is the greater the attraction/ greater the polarity/ stronger the intermolecular forces between molecules the higher the boiling point. These boiling points can give vital clues to the physical properties or chemical structures of these compounds. As Ophardt states “Molecules which strongly interact or bond with each other through a variety of intermolecular forces cannot move easily or rapidly and therefore, do not achieve the kinetic energy

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