In: Chemistry
Place H2O, CH4, H2, and HBr in order of increasing boiling point and explain ordering in terms of intermolecular forces/bonding and what intermolecular forces each contains.
The boiling point of a compound depends on its intermolecular forces. The stronger the intermolecular forces, higher is the boiling point. The intermolecular forces in the given compounds are :
H2, CH4 - dispersion forces
HBr - dipole-dipole interaction
H2O - hydrogen bonding
Here, Hydrogen bonding is stronger than dipole-dipole interaction which is stronger than dispersion forces. Also, as CH4 is bigger than H2, it exerts greater dispersion forces.
The order is : H2<CH4<HBr<H2O