.predict and expalain the order of melting point for propanol, butane, and proanone with refernce to their intermolecular forces.
I answered this earlier.
http://www.jiskha.com/display.cgi?id=1267195272
To predict the order of melting points for propanol, butane, and propanone (also known as acetone), we first need to consider their intermolecular forces.
1. Propanol (C3H7OH): Propanol possesses hydrogen bonding as its predominant intermolecular force. Hydrogen bonding occurs when a hydrogen atom is bound to an electronegative atom (such as nitrogen, oxygen, or fluorine) and is attracted to another electronegative atom in a neighboring molecule.
2. Butane (C4H10): Butane is an alkane, which consists only of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Alkanes have only weak London dispersion forces between molecules. London dispersion forces result from temporary fluctuations in electronic distribution, causing temporary dipoles that attract neighboring molecules.
3. Propanone (C3H6O): Propanone is a ketone that also exhibits dipole-dipole intermolecular forces. Dipole-dipole forces occur when the positive end of one polar molecule is attracted to the negative end of a neighboring polar molecule.
Now, let's analyze the order of melting points based on the strength of intermolecular forces:
The strongest intermolecular force is hydrogen bonding, followed by dipole-dipole interactions, and then London dispersion forces. Therefore, the predicted order of melting points would be:
1. Propanol: Propanol has the highest melting point due to the presence of strong hydrogen bonding between molecules.
2. Propanone: Propanone has a lower melting point than propanol because it exhibits weaker dipole-dipole forces.
3. Butane: Butane has the lowest melting point as it only experiences weak London dispersion forces.
Please note that this is a predicted order based on the strength of intermolecular forces. The actual melting points may also be influenced by other factors such as molecular mass, shape, and crystal packing. Experimental data should be consulted to confirm the precise order.