What types of intermolecular forces are present in each compound: (a) HCl; (b) C2H6 (ethane);(c) NH3?

Question

What types of intermolecular forces are present in each compound: (a) HCl; (b) [latex]C_{2}H_{6}[/latex] (ethane);(c) [latex]NH_{3}[/latex]?
Analysis
• London dispersion forces are present in all covalent compounds.
• Dipole–dipole interactions are present only in polar compounds with a permanent dipole.
• Hydrogen bonding occurs only in compounds that contain an O—H, N—H, or H—F bond.

Accepted Answer

• HCl has London forces like all covalent compounds.
• HCl has a polar bond, so it exhibits dipole–dipole interactions.
• HCl has no H atom on an O, N, or F, so it has no intermolecular hydrogen bonding.

• [latex]C_{2}H_{6}[/latex] is a nonpolar molecule since it has only nonpolar C—C and C H bonds. Thus, it exhibits only London forces.

• [latex]NH_{3}[/latex] has London forces like all covalent compounds.
• [latex]NH_{3}[/latex]has a net dipole from its three polar bonds (Section 3.12), so it exhibits dipole–dipole interactions.
• [latex]NH_{3}[/latex]has a H atom bonded to N, so it exhibits intermolecular hydrogen bonding.

Question 4.sp.3: What types of intermolecular forces are present in each comp...

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