When some LiCl is dissolved in water, the temperature of the water increases. This means that: (A) the strength of the intermolecular forces between the water molecules is stronger than the bond energy within the LiCl lattice (B) the attraction of the lithium ions to the negative dipoles of the water molecules is weaker than the attraction of the chloride ions to the positive dipoles of the water molecules (C) breaking the bonds between the lithium and chloride ions is an exothermic process (D) the strength of the ion-dipole attractions that are formed exceeds the lattice energy in LiCl

Exothermic processes are ones which release heat. Since the temperature of the water increases when LiCl is dissolved, this suggests that the process is exothermic.

Option (A) talks about the strength of the intermolecular forces and the bond energy within LiCl, and does not directly explain the exothermic nature. Option (B) is about ion-dipole attractions, but it considers the individual attractions of lithium and chloride ions to water, which is not directly related to the heat release. Option (C) explains that breaking bonds between lithium and chloride ions is exothermic, but in reality, the breaking of bonds usually requires energy (endothermic) rather than releasing it. Option (D) states that the strength of ion-dipole attractions formed exceeds the lattice energy, which would imply an exothermic process, as energy released from forming new attractions is greater than energy needed to break the initial bonds.

According to the comparison in Step 2, option (D) is the most relevant, because when the ion-dipole attractions form as LiCl dissolves in water, more energy may be released than what was used to break the bonds in the LiCl lattice, thus making the process exothermic and increasing the water temperature.