Course Description

Evolution of our understanding of matter, motion, electricity, magnetism,

light, and the universe from ancient times to the present; applications of
physics and chemistry concepts in contexts such as atmospheric
phenomena, cosmology, astronomy, vision, medical instrumentation,
space technology, drugs, sources of energy, pollution and recycling,
fitness and health, and cosmetics.

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Physical Science
Prepared by: Ms. Julie May V. Profugo,LPT 1
 Physical Science

WEEK 5-6

Effects of Intermolecular Forces on Properties of

Substances

Learning Outcomes

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

 Identify the intermolecular forces present in each of the given

substances.
 Compare the strengths of intermolecular forces in pairs of
substances.
 Predict which among the given substances will exhibit higher
boiling, melting, and freezing points, viscosity, surface tension,
and solubilities.
 Explain the effects of intermolecular forces on the properties of
substances.

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Physical Science
Prepared by: Ms. Julie May V. Profugo,LPT 2
Effects of Intermolecular Forces on the Properties of Substances

The properties of matter can be seen from either the microscopic or macroscopic level. The
microscopic level includes the atoms, molecules, and ions which we cannot see. The
macroscopic level shows how the bulk properties are exhibited by matter. These properties
include surface tension, viscosity, boiling, melting, and freezing points, and solubility.
Intermolecular forces play a very important role to determine how substances behave at the
macroscopic level.

Intermolecular forces are forces that exist between molecules, atoms, or ions.
Intermolecular forces of attraction are weaker than intramolecular in terms of energy
involved however; intermolecular forces are responsible for the properties of molecules.

The intermolecular forces explain why substance exists as solid, liquid or gas at room
temperature. The following are the types of intermolecular forces.

Ion-dipole Interaction

An ion-dipole interaction is the force of interaction that exists between charged

particles called ions and a polar molecule. When NaCl dissolves in water, NaCl dissociates
to form Na+ ion and Cl- ion. Since water is a polar molecule, it has a partial positive end and
partial negative end. Thus, the Na+ ion from the NaCl molecule will attract the partially
negative end of the water molecule, while the Cl - ion of NaCl will also attract to the partially
positive end of the water molecule (Figure 1).

Ion-dipole
:

Fig. 1. Ion-dipole Interaction

Dipole-Dipole Interaction

Dipole- dipole interaction is the force of attraction that exists in polar molecule like
HCI. The unequal sharing of electrons between Hydrogen and Chlorine atoms in HCl
creating a partially positive pole in H and partially negative pole in Cl and is referred as
DIPOLE (Figure 2).

Hδ+Clδ-Hδ+Clδ-
Dipole-dipole

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Physical Science
Prepared by: Ms. Julie May V. Profugo,LPT 3
 Fig. 2. Dipole-dipole interaction

In dipole-dipole interaction, the molecules with permanent dipoles attract each other in way
that the positive end of one molecule attracts the negative end of the other molecule.

Hydrogen Bond

The bond that exists between water molecules is Hydrogen bond (Fig.3). It is a
special kind of dipole-dipole interaction between Hydrogen which is a polar molecule and a
highly electronegative elements Fluorine, Oxygen and Nitrogen. In Hydrogen bond, the
highly electronegative element F, O, N causes the hydrogen to become strongly positive.

Hδ+ Hδ+
Oδ- Oδ-

:
: :

Hδ+ Hδ+

:
H-bond

Fig.3. Hydrogen bond in water

The ability of water to form H-bond relates to its ability as a universal solvent. H-bond
prevents the water from evaporating quickly into the atmosphere. It also causes ice to float in
water since at freezing temperature, water molecules tend to form a crystal lattice as it
expands.

London Dispersion Forces- is present in all molecules. It is the weakest intermolecular

force which is formed due to temporary dipoles of a non-polar molecule. The strength of the
dispersion forces increases as the molecular weight of the substance increases.

The properties of substances as viewed on the macroscopic level can be explained by the
types of intermolecular forces present between and among substances. These bulk
properties can be predicted through an analysis of the interplay of intermolecular forces in
each substance.

The chart below tells us of the relative strengths of intermolecular forces. This can be
referred to when trying to relate the IMF to the properties of substances.

London DispersionDipole-dipole
Forces interaction Ion – dipole interaction Ionic bond
Hydrogen bond

INTERMOLECULAR FORCES INTRAMOLECULAR

Weakest Strongest
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Physical Science
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Properties of substances affected by intermolecular forces

 Surface Tension
- This is the amount of energy required to stretch the surface area of liquids (e.g., 1
cm2). Liquids with high intermolecular forces tend to have high surface tensions.
When water is dropped on a waxy surface, it tends to form a round bead to
minimize the surface area that it occupies.

An example of surface tension is capillary action. It is the ability of liquid molecules to move
against gravity. The forces bringing about capillary actionarecohesion (intermolecular
attraction between like molecules) and adhesion (an attraction between unlike molecules.

Water molecules exhibit cohesion while the attraction between water and the sides of the
glass tube is adhesion.If adhesion is stronger than cohesion, the liquid is pulled upward.
If cohesion is greater than adhesion, there is a depression or lowering, resulting to a lower
height of the liquid in the capillary tube.

The
stronger the

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Physical Science
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 intermolecular forces possessed by molecules, the higher is the surface tension of the
substance.

 Viscosity
- This is a measure of a liquid’s resistance to flow. The greater the viscosity of a
liquid, the more slowly it flows. The viscosity of substances decreases with high
temperatures; thus, syrup flows faster when hot.

The strength of intermolecular forces affects the ease with which substances flow. Liquids
that have high intermolecular forces are highly viscous. The presence of strong H-bonds in
some liquids makes these substances highly viscous.

The LEDS of glycerol below shows three (3) OH- groups that can participate in H-bonding
whereas water has only one OH- group to form H-bonding. Glycerol is more viscous than
water.

 Boiling Point and Melting Point

- Boiling point depends on the equilibrium vapour pressure exerted by the liquid or
solid above the liquid or the solid. This means that the rate of vaporization is
equal to the rate of condensation of the substance in a closed container. Vapour
pressure also varies with temperature. The graph below shows the effect of
temperature on the vapour pressure of water.

At 100OC, the vapour pressure is equal to the atmospheric pressure of 1.00 atm. Boiling
occurs at this point, where the vapour pressure of water is equal to the pressure of the
atmosphere.

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Physical Science
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There are substances that boil at a lower temperature and some at a higher temperature.
These temperatures depend on the vapour pressure exerted by the liquids or solids. Vapour
pressure, on the other hand, depends on the intermolecular forces present in the
substances. When the intermolecular forces are strong, the vapour pressure is low.
As a consequence, boiling will occur at a higher temperature because more energy is
needed to break the intermolecular bonds for the substance to change into vapour.

Water, for example, exhibits strong H-bonds such that vaporization needs more energy to
change the liquid to vapour.

London dispersion forces predominate in methane, CH4. These are the weakest forces of
attraction among molecules. It needs a little energy to break the bonds such that methane
changes to vapour easily. As a consequence, more vapour are released in which vapour
pressure will eventually equal to atmospheric pressure.

Boiling then will occur. This explains why water has a higher boiling point than methane.
This condition is also true for melting point. The ease with which bond breaks affects the
melting points of substances. The greater intermolecular forces there are among molecules
the higher is their melting point.

The strength of dispersion forces also depends on the size of the substance or the number
of electrons in the substances. The ease with which the electron distribution is distorted
explains the amount of dispersion forces that a substance exhibits. The distortion of the
electron distribution is known as polarizability.

The greater the polarizability of the electron distribution the greater are the dispersion forces.
When the dispersion forces are high, the boiling and melting points are also high.

Br2 and F2 are both diatomic gases. They are also both nonpolar, but Br2 is a bigger
molecule than F2. The polarizability of Br2 is greater than F2 so it has greater dispersion
forces.
This explains why Br2 has a higher boiling point than F2. Greater amount of energy is
needed to overcome the big dispersion forces in Br2 than in F2.

 Solubility
- Solubility is the ability of a substance (solid, liquid, or gas) to dissolve in a given
substance (solid, liquid, or gas). The amount of any substance dissolved in a
solvent (the substance that dissolves another substance) depends on the types
of interaction among molecules, pressure, and temperature.

The rule “Like dissolves like” applies to solubility. This means that the kind of substances
being dissolved should exhibit the same properties or should be compatible for them to form
solutions. The polarity of molecules is an important factor for substances to dissolve in
certain molecules. Highly polar molecules will dissolve substances that have dipoles.

The negatively-charged particles will be attracted to the positively-charged particles of the

involved substances. This attraction will subsist in the solutions.

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Physical Science
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Water is considered as a universal solvent because of its ability to dissolve almost
everything. Water is highly polar and has the ability to form H-bonds with polar substances.
Nonpolar substances, on the other hand will also dissolve nonpolar substances.
Intermolecular forces, such as dispersion forces, will prevail to maintain the dissolution of
substances.

To predict the behaviour of substances, several considerations should be taken.

First, the polarity of substances should be determined together with the predominant
intermolecular forces present in the substances. For example, consider NaCl (sodium
chloride) and CH4 (methane). NaCl is a dipole while methane is nonpolar.

Dipole-dipole interaction is predominant in NaCl while dispersion forces are present

among methane molecules.

Since dipole-dipole forces are stronger than dispersion forces, NaCl will have higher boiling
and melting points. It is also highly soluble in water due to ion-dipole interaction that will
prevail.
Methane is not soluble in water because there are no poles that will participate in the
dissolution process with water.

Between CCl4 (carbon tetrachloride) and CHCl3 (trichloromethane), trichloromethane has a

higher boiling and melting points than carbon tetrachloride. It is also slightly soluble in water.

Trichloromethane is a polar molecule while carbon tetrachloride is a nonpolar

molecule.

The dipole-dipole interaction in CHCl3 is stronger than the dispersion forces in CCl4.

Again the boiling and melting points are higher in CHCl3 than in CCl4. Hence, since CHCl3
is polar, then it is soluble in water.

Ammonia (NH3) and methyl fluoride (CH3F) are both polar but the ability of NH3 to form H-
bonds qualifies it for higher boiling and melting points than CH3F. At the same time, H-
bonding also enables NH3 to be more soluble in water than CH3F.

Phosphorus pentachloride (PCL5) and phosphorus pentabromide (PBr5) have the same
molecular shape and polarity. What matters here is the size of the molecule when comparing
the properties of these substances. Bromine contains more electrons than chlorine. This
makes PBr5 bigger and heavier.

In this case, dispersion forces are greater in PBr5 so it has higher boiling and melting points
than PCL5.

Since these two substances are both nonpolar, then they are not soluble in water.

Digital Communication and Technological College Inc.

Physical Science
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Pentane (C5H12) and isopentane (C5H12) both contain the same number of C and H atoms
in the formula. However, their molecular structures are different.

Below are the LEDS of the two substances.

Pentane has an extended structure while isopentane has a compact structure. Extended
structures have more opportunities for interactions than compact structures.

Extended molecules have stronger intermolecular forces than the compact structures.

As such the boiling point of pentane is higher than that of isopentane. It is also true for their
melting points.

Both molecules are nonpolar so they are not soluble in water.

The nature of intermolecular forces present in molecules is a good gauge

to predict properties of substances.

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Physical Science
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 Week 5 - 6
Activity Sheet #1
Effects of Intermolecular Forces on Properties of Substances

Student’s Name:_____________________________ Date:_____________________

Grade & Track: _____________________ Teacher: ______________

A. Identify the possible intermolecular force attraction in the following:

a. NaCl ------ H2O _________________________________

a. NH3 ------ NH3 _________________________________

b. H2S ------- H2S _________________________________

c. O2 ------- O2 _________________________________
d. HCl ------ HCl _________________________________

e. CH3OH ------ CH3OH _________________________________

f. H2 ---------- H2 _________________________________

g. Na2S ------ HCl _________________________________

h. Br2 ------- Br2 _________________________________

i. H2O ----- H2O _________________________________

B. Arrange the following compounds (H2O, H2S, Br2, NaCl) in increasing….

a. Boiling Points ________________________________________

b. Melting Points ________________________________________

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Physical Science
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 c. Surface Tension ________________________________________

d. Vapor Pressure ________________________________________

e. Viscosity ________________________________________

Week 5 - 6
Activity Sheet #2
Effects of Intermolecular Forces on Properties of Substances

Student’s Name:_____________________________ Date:_____________________

Grade & Track: _____________________ Teacher: ______________

Unscramble the letter to tell what property is being described in the statement.

1. _______________ (Bilniog pniot) is the temperature at which the vapour pressure

of a liquid is equal to the external pressure (Chang, 2015).

2. ______________ (Vcisitoy) measures how well the substance flow.

3. ______________ (Sfrucae tnsioen) measures the toughness of the surface of the

liquid.

4. _____________ (Mltineg pniot) is the temperature at which a substance changes

from liquid to gas.

5. ______________ (Vopar perussre) is the small amount of gas that can be found
above all liquid?

6. ______________ (poledi-lepodi) force of attraction that exists in polar molecule like

HCl.

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Physical Science
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 7. ______________ (Nio-poledi) force of interaction that exists between charged
particles called ions and a polar molecule.

Week 5 - 6
Activity Sheet #3
Effects of Intermolecular Forces on Properties of Substances

Student’s Name:_____________________________ Date:_____________________

Grade & Track: _____________________ Teacher: ______________

Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. The properties of matter seen in the macroscopic level influenced by intermolecular forces
a. bulk
b. ionic
c. covalent
d. individual

2. Which intermolecular forces depend on the polarizability of molecules

a. ion-dipole
b. dipole-dipole
c. Hydrogen bonding
d. London dispersion forces

3. Cohesive forces bring about capillary action. These forces are

a. pulling molecules towards gravity.
b. interactions among polar molecules.
c. attractions among different molecules.
d. drawing together of the same kind of molecules.

4. When adhesion is stronger than cohesion, the liquid is pulled

a. upward and results to concave meniscus.
b. downward and results to convex meniscus.

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Physical Science
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 c. upward and becomes higher than the surrounding liquid.
d. downward and becomes higher than the surrounding liquid.

5. What is true of viscosity of substances?

a. Viscosity of substances increases as the temperature increases.
b. The least viscous substance flow the slowest among the substances.
c. Molecules that form H-bonds have higher viscosities than those with London
dispersion forces.
d. Substances with London dispersion forces exhibit greater viscosity than those with
ion-dipole interactions.

6. When intermolecular forces are high, the boiling point is expected to be

a. low.
b. high.
c. dependent on the kinds of atoms.
d. dependent on the number of atoms.

7.Water is a polar molecule that is capable of forming H=bonds.

a. It is low since weak intermolecular forces are present.
b. The polar ends hinder the breaking of bonds, thus less water vapour is produced.
c. Vapour pressure is high since great amount of energy is needed to break the H
bond.
d. Vapour pressure is low since it is hard to break the H-bond among the molecules
and escape as vapour.

8. Which intermolecular forces among the following allows for easy escape of molecule to
the vapour phase?
a. H-bonding
b. ion-dipole forces
c. dipole-dipole interaction
d. London dispersion forces

9. The vapour pressure on top of the mountain is low so what will happen to the cooking time
of an egg up there?
a. The cooking time will be longer since the temperature of the water is higher.
b. The cooking time will be shorter since the temperature of the water is higher.
c. The cooking time will be longer since the temperature of the water is lower.
d. The cooking time will be shorter since the temperature of the water is lower.

10. Methane will not dissolve in water due to

a. greater molar mass of H2O than CH4.
b. the same intermolecular forces they possess.
c. difference in the kinds of atoms in their structure.
d. difference in intermolecular forces between the two substances.

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Physical Science
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 Week 5 - 6
Activity Sheet #4
Effects of Intermolecular Forces on Properties of Substances

Student’s Name:_____________________________ Date:_____________________

Grade & Track: _____________________ Teacher: ______________

Answer the following.

1. What are the properties of matter influenced by intermolecular forces?

2. Rank the intermolecular forces in the order of increasing strengths.

3. What steps or considerations do we take to determine the effects of intermolecular

forces on the properties of matter?

Digital Communication and Technological College Inc.

Physical Science
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