PROPERTIES OF LIQUIDS AND

INTERMOLECULAR FORCES
What are the properties of liquids?
 Liquids are:
 Liquids are made up of particles that are close to each other and have kinetic energy.
 Particles are not confined to a rigid position and they move, but they can only travel at a
short distance before they collide with each other and change the direction of motion.
They roll and slide on top of one another and flow. Since the molecules flow, they take the
shape of their container and diffuse moderately to a fixed volume.
 Liquids have moderately high density since they occupy a fixed volume and the particles
are attracted to each other. They also have low compressibility and thermal expansion.
 The kinetic energy of the molecules break away from their neighbor and thus, the particles
are joined by intermolecular forces.
 The presence of the intermolecular forces results in special properties. The physical
properties of liquids depends on the type of the different intermolecular forces.
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 SURFACE
 TENSION
Surface tension is the force that causes the surface of a liquid to contract. It is the property
of the surface of a liquid that allows it to resist an external force, due to the cohesive nature
of its molecules.
 Phenomena such as
insects walking on the surface of water,
droplets of liquid being spherical in shape,
needle remaining suspended on the surface of water
 The strength of surface tension depends on the intermolecular force of attraction. If the
intermolecular force of attraction of a liquid is strong, then there is a greater force needed to
break through the surface and the greater the surface tension is. Since the intermolecular
forces vary in nature and strength, surface tension is different for different form of liquids.
 What explains the high surface tension of water?
 What is the effect of temperature in the surface tension of water?
 Molecules within a liquid are
pulled in all directions by
intermolecular forces. Molecules at
the surface are pulled downward and
sideways by other molecules, not
upward away from the surface. This
force tend to pull the molecules in
the liquid and cause the surface to
tighten like an elastic film.
 Capillary action or Capillarity
 the tendency of a liquid to rise in narrow
tubes or be drawn into small openings such
as those between grains of a rock. It is a
result of intermolecular attraction between
the liquid and solid materials.
 Capillary action is shown by water rising
spontaneously in capillary tubes. A thin film
of water adheres to the wall of the glass tube
as water molecules are attracted to atoms
making up the glass (SiO2). Surface tension
causes the film of water to contract and pulls
the water up the tube.
Two types of forces are involved in capillary action:
 VISCOSIT
Y
 Viscosity is the resistance of fluids to flow. A liquid’s resistance to flow
exists between the molecules of liquid when they move past each other. The
greater the resistance in flowing, the more viscous the liquid is.
 The difference in viscosity between the two liquids is a measure of their
intermolecular force of attraction. In order to flow, molecules must move,
roll and slide over one another. A liquid with low intermolecular force
allows its molecules to move freely and, therefore, has lower viscosity.
 An increase in temperature decreases viscosity.
 The greater the number of Hbonds, the stronger the intermolecular force of
attraction is, and the higher the viscosity of the liquid.
Glycerol
 VAPOR PRESSURE
 When a solid or a liquid evaporates to a gas in a closed container, the
molecules cannot escape.
 Some of the gas molecules will eventually strike the condensed phase
and condense back into it.
 When the rate of condensation of the gas becomes equal to the rate of
evaporation of the liquid or solid, the amount of gas, liquid and/or
solid no longer changes.
 The gas in the container is in equilibrium with the liquid or solid.
 The pressure exerted by the gas in equilibrium with a solid or liquid
in a closed container at a given temperature is called the
vapor pressure.
 VAPOR
 If the intermolecular forces between molecules are:
 relatively strong, the vapor pressure will be relatively low.
PRESSURE
 relatively weak, the vapor pressure will be relatively high.
 Ethyl alcohol and water have very low vapor pressures. Both liquids have the strong dipole-
dipole interaction called hydrogen bonding. Acetone is polar but does not have H-bonding. Its
vapor pressure is of intermediate value. Pentane is a nonpolar substance, and its vapor pressure
is high compared to those of water and ethyl alcohol.
 When liquids evaporate, the molecules have to have sufficient energy to break the attractive
forces that hold them in the liquid state. The stronger these intermolecular forces are, the greater
the amount of energy needed to break them.
 For some substances with weak intermolecular forces, the energy requirement is easily obtained
from collisions with other molecules and absorption of energy from the surroundings. Many
molecules can vaporize, resulting in a high vapor pressure. For molecules with strong
intermolecular forces, gathering enough energy may not be as easy, and register low vapor
pressures.
 The stronger the intermolecular forces of attraction, the lower the vapor pressure of a liquid.
 MOLAR HEAT OF
 The molar heat of vaporizationVAPORIZATION
(ΔHvap) is the energy required to vaporize 1 mole of a liquid at a given
temperature. H is the symbol for enthalpy, which means heat content at a given standard condition.
 The heat of vaporization may be considered a measure of the strength of intermolecular forces in a
liquid. If the intermolecular attraction is strong, it takes a lot of energy to free the molecules from
the liquid phase and the heat of vaporization will be high.
 BOILING
 POINT
The boiling point of a liquid is the temperature at which the liquid converts into
a gas.
 A liquid boils when its vapor pressure equals the pressure acting on the surface
of the liquid. The boiling point is the temperature at which the vapor pressure of
a liquid is equal to the external pressure.
 The normal boiling point is the temperature at which the liquid converts to a gas
when the external pressure is 1 atm. The normal boiling point of water is 100 OC.
The boiling point of a liquid depends on the external pressure. For example, at 1
atm, water boils at 100 OC, but if the pressure is reduced to 0.5 atm, water boils
at only 82 OC.
 The boiling point is related to molar heat of vaporization: the higher ΔHvap, the
higher the boiling point.