Intermolecular Forces - AP Chemistry

This is butanol. It is an alcohol; OH is the prime example of hydrogen bonding, which is the strongest intermolecular force.

Ionic bonds are the strongest type of bonds, followed by covalent bonds, hydrogen bonds, and lastly, van Der waals forces.

Ion-dipole forces are the strongest of the intermolecular forces.

Hydrogen bonding is a specific term for a particularly strong dipole-dipole interaction between a hydrogen atom and a very electronegative atom (oxygen, fluorine, or nitrogen). However, hydrogen bonds are still not as strong as ion-dipole interactions.

In order from strongest to weakest, the intermolecular forces given in the answer choices are: ion-dipole, hydrogen bonding, dipole-dipole, and Van der Waals forces.

Ionic bonding is stronger than any of the given intermolecular forces, but is itself NOT an intermolecular force. Ionic bonds are a permanent chemical connection between two atoms, whereas intermolecular forces as a more transient and temporary attraction between independent molecules.

Ionic and covalent bonds are not intermolecular forces;

Ion-dipole>hydrogen bonds>dipole-dipole>van Der Waals forces

IMF strength is in the order of ion-ion>h-bond>dipole-dipole>van der waals. Of the listed compounds there aren't any that display ion-ion IMF, and only ammonia has h-bonding, making it the one with the strongest forces.

Helium gas will have the lowest boiling point since it is a noble gas and the only intermolecular forces present are dispersion forces, which are the weakest. Acetone has a dipole, so dipole-dipole forces will be present. Water has a dipole and can also hydrogen bond, as can isobutyl alcohol. However, isobutyl alcohol is heavier than water, and will thus have the highest boiling point.

Ion-dipole forces are the forces responsible for the solvation of ionic compounds in aqueous solutions, and are the strongest of the intermolecular foces. Hydrogen bonding is the second strongest intermolecular force, followed by dipole-dipole interactions. London dispersion forces are present in all solutions, but are very small and the weakest of the intermolecular forces.

Noble gases are uncharged and do not have polar covalent bonds or dipole moments. The only force that could apply to them are dispersion forces.

A hydrogen bond is not a proper chemical bond, but the result of dipole-dipole interactions. While they are very chemically important, hydrogen bonds are dynamic, rather than stagnant. This is the least stable type of bond listed.

Covalent bonds are inherently more stable than ionic bonds as electrons are shared between both bound atoms, so the next stronges bond type is the ionic bond.

Chemists distinguish between covalent and ionic bonds for the sake of simplicity, but there is actually a continuum. Polar covalent bonds are on the continuum between pure ionic bonds and pure covalent bonds, so polar covalent bonds have more ionic character than nonpolar covalent bonds, and thus are less stable than nonpolar covalent bonds.

The choice "The slightly negatively charged sulfur atoms in H_2S are attracted to the slightly positively charged hydrogen atom of a nearby H_2S molecule" is exactly analogous to hydrogen bonding in water.

"Two methane molecules are attracted to one another because of temporary dipoles" describes London dispersion forces.

While "A negatively charged chlorine anion in solution will attract nearby positively charged Lithium cations" may sound like hydrogen bonding, it is more descriptive of interactions between any charged particles, not charged particles within the same molecule.

"Water completely dissolves certain salts, like NaCl" does not describe bonding at all.

While "The chlorine bound to carbon in dichloromethane will slightly attract positive charged particles" sounds promising, the slight charges are not on the same molecule.

Methanol is not an ionic molecule and will not exhibit intermolecular ionic bonding.

Methanol is polar, and will exhibit dipole interactions. It also contains the -OH alcohol group which will allow for hydrogen bonding.

Although the two molecules seem similar in structure, proponol has a higher boiling point due to the hydrogen bonding allowed by its alcohol group. This creates a strong intermolecular force, and extra energy is subsequently needed to break these bonds, resulting in a higher boiling point.

System pressure and temperature are related to boiling point, but are not necessary when comparing the properties of two molecules.

Dipole-ion interactions (an attraction between an ion and a neutral, but polar atom) are the strongest intermolecular forces listed. Ion-ion forces (attraction between two ions) are the strongest interactions overall.

Hydrogen bonding, an attraction between a hydrogen atom and a highly electronegative atom like fluorine, oxygen, or nitrogen, is the second strongest interaction listed.

The third strongest listed is dipole-dipole interactions, an attraction between two polar molecules, followed by dispersion forces, temporary shifts in the electrons of a molecule.

Hydrogen bonding is what holds the hydrogen in one molecule of water to the oxygen in another molecule. Surface tension is a measure of the difficulty to disturb the surface of a liquid. The strong intermolecular connections created by hydrogen bonding makes it hard to disrupt adjacent molecules and break the water surface.

Most key properties of water are attributed to its hydrogen bonding.

Ethene is an organic molecule composed of two carbon atoms, joined by a double bond, and four hydrogen atoms.

Ethene, like all molecules, exhibits London dispersion forces. This molecule, however, has no net dipole moment, so it will not exhibit dipole-dipole attraction. Also, even though it contains hydrogens, it does not exhibit hydrogen bonding. To exhibit hydrogen bonding, the hydrogen atoms must be attached to more electronegative atoms, namely nitrogen, fluorine, or oxygen. Finally, ionic bonding is only present in ionic compounds, not organic compounds.

Formaldehyde, like all atoms and molecules, will have very weak London dispersion forces created as electrons shift within the electron cloud. Because it possesses a permanent dipole (based on the polarized carbon-oxygen bond), formaldehyde also exhibits dipole-dipole interactions. It does not, however, exhibit hydrogen bonding, because no hydrogens are attached to oxygen (or other electronegative atoms like nitrogen or fluorine).

There is a key difference between atomic bonds and intermolecular forces. Metallic bonds, ionic bonds, and covalent bonds are all atomic bonds. This means that they are generally stable and relatively irreversible. An atomic bond will change the identity of a compound by adding an atom to the structure.

Intermolecular forces, in contrast, are more transient and less stable. These attractions are constantly broken and reformed as molecules move around. Hydrogen bonds, dipole-dipole interactions, and van der Waals forces (London dispersion forces) are some common examples of intermolecular forces. Intermolecular forces will never change the identity of the molecule and cannot be used to add atoms to a compound.

There is a key difference between atomic bonds and intermolecular forces. Ionic bonds and covalent bonds are atomic bonds, meaning they are intramolecular. This means that they are generally stable and relatively irreversible. An atomic bond will change the identity of a compound by adding an atom to the structure.

Intermolecular forces, in contrast, are more transient and less stable. These attractions are constantly broken and reformed as molecules move around. Hydrogen bonds, dipole-dipole interactions, and van der Waals forces (London dispersion forces) are some common examples of intermolecular forces. Intermolecular forces will never change the identity of the molecule and cannot be used to add atoms to a compound.

The strongest intermolecular force is hydrogen bonding, which is a particular subset of dipole-dipole interactions that occur when a hydrogen is in close proximity (bound to) a highly electronegative element (namely oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine). The hydrogen takes on a partial positive charge and the electronegative atoms takes on a partial negative charge.

This is a question about intermolecular forces, or IMFs. There are four broad categories of IMFs, all of which are represented here.

Since the question asks us to order the compounds from least strength to greatest, we'll start with the weakest IMF: Van der Waals forces, also called "induced dipoles" or London dispersion forces.

Non-polar molecules like and can still exhibit temporary dipoles by induction, when the electrons of one molecule push away the electrons of another. In general, the more electrons that are available to push, the more potential there is for a dipole to occur. Therefore, is weaker, because it has less electrons available than .

The next tier of IMF is permanent dipole interactions (dipole-dipole interactions) that are not hydrogen bonds. is a polar molecule and experiences dipole interactions, which makes it the next strongest in our list.

Next is hydrogen bonding, an especially powerful form of dipole interactions when hydrogen is bonded to a fluorine, oxygen, or nitrogen atom. experiences hydrogen bonding because it has hydrogen atoms bonded to oxygen atoms. Because hydrogen bonds are a stronger form of dipole interactions, this puts next in the list.

The strongest form of intermolecular force is ionic forces, which exist in ionic compounds like . So, exhibits the strongest IMFs.

Our final order is , or II < III < IV < I < V.