Hydrogen bromide gas, a polar covalent compound, is very soluble in water. Describe what happens, referring to intermolecular forces, as the hydrogen bromide dissolves. Diagrams may be helpful in your explanation.
Please, I need help with this question for assignment.
To understand what happens when hydrogen bromide (HBr) gas dissolves in water, we need to consider the intermolecular forces involved.
Hydrogen bromide is a polar covalent compound because the bromine atom is more electronegative than the hydrogen atom, resulting in a partial positive charge on the hydrogen atom and a partial negative charge on the bromine atom.
When water molecules (H2O) come into contact with hydrogen bromide gas, the polar nature of HBr enables it to interact with water molecules through intermolecular forces known as dipole-dipole attractions.
Here's a step-by-step explanation of what happens:
1. Dissolution of HBr gas: HBr gas molecules enter the space above the water surface. Initially, the HBr molecules are attracted to each other through dispersion forces, weak intermolecular forces caused by temporary fluctuations in electron distributions.
2. Approach of HBr to water molecules: As a HBr molecule approaches a water molecule, the partially positive hydrogen atom in HBr is attracted to the partially negative oxygen atom in water due to the dipole-dipole attractions.
3. Formation of hydrogen bonding: When a water molecule and an HBr molecule come close enough, hydrogen bonding occurs. Hydrogen bonding is a strong type of dipole-dipole attraction that happens between a partially positive hydrogen atom and a highly electronegative atom (oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine). In this case, the oxygen atom in a water molecule acts as the electronegative atom, and the hydrogen atom in HBr is the partially positive hydrogen.
4. Dissociation of HBr: Once hydrogen bonding occurs, the HBr molecule can break apart, or dissociate, into its ions, H+ and Br-. This dissociation happens because water molecules, with their polar nature, can effectively stabilize and separate the positive and negative charges in the HBr molecule.
Overall, the dissolution of hydrogen bromide in water involves the weakening of intermolecular forces within HBr due to hydrogen bonding with water, leading to its dissociation into H+ and Br- ions.
I apologize that I cannot provide diagrams as visuals, but I hope the explanation helps you understand the process.