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Chapter 7: Problem 80

Most covalent molecular substances have much lower melting points than ionic substances. What does this say about the strength of a covalent bond relative to the strength of an ionic bond? Explain your answer.

Short Answer

Expert verified
In summary, covalent bonds between molecules are generally weaker than ionic bonds due to the weaker intermolecular forces (such as London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, or hydrogen bonding) present in covalent molecular substances. This is evidenced by their lower melting points compared to ionic substances, which have stronger electrostatic forces in their lattice structures.

Step by step solution

01

1. Understand the different bonding types

Ionic compounds generally consist of a lattice structure, where positively charged cations and negatively charged anions attract each other through electrostatic forces. On the other hand, covalent molecular substances contain atoms that share electrons to form covalent bonds, thus creating molecules.
02

2. Analyze the properties of ionic compounds

Ionic compounds usually have high melting points because the electrostatic forces holding the lattice structure together are strong. They require a lot of energy to break the ionic bonds and separate the ions in the lattice.
03

3. Analyze the properties of covalent molecular substances

In covalent molecular substances, their lower melting points can be attributed to the relatively weaker forces holding the molecules together, which can be either London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, or hydrogen bonding. These forces are weaker than the ionic bonds, so it requires less energy to separate the molecules in covalent molecular substances.
04

4. Compare the bond strength

By comparing the melting points of covalent molecular substances with ionic substances, we can infer that the strength of a covalent bond between molecules is generally lower than the strength of an ionic bond. The weaker forces between covalent molecules, compared to the stronger electrostatic forces in ionic compounds, result in lower melting points for covalent molecular substances.
05

5. Conclusion

Therefore, it can be concluded that the strength of covalent bonds between molecules is often lower than the strength of ionic bonds due to the weaker intermolecular forces in covalent molecular substances, as evidenced by their lower melting points relative to ionic substances.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

Would you expect \(\mathrm{CCl}_{4}\) or \(\mathrm{CBr}_{4}\) to have the higher boiling point? Explain your answer.

Consider the molecules HF and HCl. The electronegativities of the atoms involved are \(\mathrm{H}, 2.1 ; \mathrm{Cl}, 3.0 ; \mathrm{F}, 4.0 .\) (a) Which of the two molecules is more polar? Explain your answer. (b) For which substance are the dipole-dipole attractions between the molecules stronger? Explain your answer. (c) Which gas would, upon cooling, liquefy first? Explain your answer. Also, indicate which compound would have the higher boiling point based on your answer. (d) Do both molecules also experience London forces of attraction? If yes, which would have the greater London forces?

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(a) Name the strongest intermolecular force in \(\mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{OH}, \mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{Cl}, \mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{CH}_{3}\), and \(\mathrm{CH}_{3} \mathrm{CH}_{2} \mathrm{CH}_{3}\) (b) Rank these molecules from lowest to highest boiling point.

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