How do Intermolecular Forces affect boiling points and melting points?

Explain each of the following in terms of the intermolecular forces that exist.
a) At room temperature and pressure, chlorine is a gas, bromine is a liquid and iodine is a solid.
o Cl2, Br2 and I2 are all nonpolar diatomic molecules there is no dipole-dipole attraction possible and they
are not capable of hydrogen bonding
o The only type of intermolecular force of attraction that affects their boiling point is van der Waals forces
of attraction between neighbouring molecules
o Van der waals forces of attraction increase as a molecules mass increases (and # of electrons
increases)
o Chlorine has the smallest mass of the three halogens mentioned, so has the fewest electrons and will
have the weakest van der Waals forces so it has the lowest boiling point because it is easiest to separate
molecules of chlorine from each other; bromine has the next highest mass, so has intermediate van der
Waalks forces and would have the next highest boiling point (above room temperature), while iodine has
the greatest mass, the strongest van der Waals forces of attraction and remains in solid state at room
temperature;
b) Ethanol (CH3CH2OH) has a much higher boiling point than its
isomer (same formula but a different structural arrangement of
atoms) methoxymethane (CH3OCH3)

o
o

Both have the same chemical formula, same mass and same number of electrons, so will have very
similar van der Waals forces of attraction
Methoxymethane has 2 polar C-O bonds, but they are equal and exactly opposite and cancel out to zero,
so it is a nonpolar molecule and only has van der Waals forces of attraction, the weakest of the
intermolecular forces, so it will have a fairly low boiling point as it is easier to separate molecules and
overcome the weak van der Waals forces
Ethanol has a very polar O-H bond, so it is capable of hydrogen bonding with neighbouring molecules;
hydrogen bonding is the strongest intermolecular force, so its boiling point is much higher than
methoxymethane

d) The boiling point of sulfur dioxide is 240C higher than that of chlorine.
o Chlorine, Cl2, is a diatomic, nonpolar molecule; the only intermolecular forces of attraction between
chlorine molecules is van der Waals forces of attraction, the weakest type of intermolecular force of
attraction
o SO2 is a polar molecule (bent shape draw a Lewis structure and identify the shape) so it has dipoledipole attractive forces between molecules that are much stronger than van der Waals and this makes it
more difficult to separate molecules of sulfur dioxide so its boiling point is higher.
o Although Cl2 has a larger mass than SO2 and so has larger van der Waals forces of attraction between
molecules, the much stronger dipole-dipole attractive forces present between SO2 molecules make for
much stronger intermolecular forces of attraction between SO2 molecules
e) The boiling point of hydrogen fluoride, water and ammonia is significantly higher than those of the analogous
compounds in the next period (period 3). For each pair, explain why:
(ii) HF and HCl
HF has a much higher boiling point than HCl because HF is a very polar bond and is capable of hydrogen
bonding between molecules. Hydrogen bonding is the strongest type of intermolecular force of attraction. HCl
has dipole-dipole forces and van der Waals forces of attraction between molecules, but these are weaker than
hydrogen bonding and so it has a lower boiling point because it is easier to separate molecules of HCl from each
other during the change from liquid to gas.
(ii) H2O and H2S ( at room temperature H2O is a liquid but H2S is a gas)
H2O has a much higher boiling point than H2S because O-H is a very polar bond and the water molecule is
capable of hydrogen bonding between molecules. Hydrogen bonding is the strongest type of intermolecular
force of attraction. H2S has dipole-dipole forces and van der Waals forces of attraction between molecules, but
these are weaker than hydrogen bonding and so it has a lower boiling point because it is easier to separate
molecules of H2S from each other during the change from liquid to gas.
(iii) NH3 and PH3

NH3 has a much higher boiling point than PH3 because N-H is a very polar bond and the ammonia (NH3)
molecules are capable of hydrogen bonding between molecules. Hydrogen bonding is the strongest type of
intermolecular force of attraction. PH3 has dipole-dipole forces and van der Waals forces of attraction between
molecules, but these are weaker than hydrogen bonding and so it has a lower boiling point because it is easier
to separate molecules of PH3 from each other during the change from liquid to gas.