All High School Chemistry Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Help With Intermolecular Forces
Which of the following cannot participate in hydrogen bonding?
Fluorine
All of these can participate in hydrogen bonding
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Chlorine
Chlorine
Hydrogen bonds are intermolecular forces between hydrogens and adjacent molecules. These adjacent molecules must contain either fluorine, oxygen, or nitrogen, the three most electronegative atoms. These electronegative atoms pull electrons away from the bonded hydrogen, giving it a small positive charge and giving themselves a slightly negative charge. When the positive hydrogen of one molecule come close to a negative charge on another, the opposite charges attract and pull the molecules close together to form a hydrogen bond. The hydrogen must be bonded to oxygen (-OH), fluorine (HF), or nitrogen (-NH) to have this charging effect.
Example Question #2 : Help With Intermolecular Forces
Which of the following molecules cannot participate in hydrogen bonding?
Hydrogen bonding takes place when a hydrogen atom is attracted to a highly electronegative atom in another molecule. Hydrogen bonding takes place between hydrogen and either nitrogen, oxygen, or fluorine. Carbon has an electronegativity similar to hydrogen's, and will not hydrogen bond with hydrogens in other molecules.
Only molecules with -OH, -FH, or -NH groups can form hydrogen bonds.
Example Question #2 : Help With Intermolecular Forces
What intermolecular forces can be found in a molecule of ethene?
London dispersion forces and hydrogen bonding
Dipole-dipole attraction and ionic bonding
London dispersion forces, hydrogen bonding, and dipole-dipole attraction
London dispersion forces and dipole-dipole attraction
London dispersion forces only
London dispersion forces only
Ethene is an organic molecule composed of two carbon atoms, joined by a double bond, and four hydrogen atoms.
Ethene, like all molecules, exhibits London dispersion forces. This molecule, however, has no net dipole moment, so it will not exhibit dipole-dipole attraction. Also, even though it contains hydrogens, it does not exhibit hydrogen bonding. To exhibit hydrogen bonding, the hydrogen atoms must be attached to more electronegative atoms, namely nitrogen, fluorine, or oxygen. Finally, ionic bonding is only present in ionic compounds, not organic compounds.
Example Question #54 : Compounds And Bonding
Which of the following intermolecular forces is broken when water is boiled?
Hydrogen bonds
None of these answers
Ionic bonds
Double bonds
Covalent bonds
Hydrogen bonds
Intermolecular forces are transient forces between two separate molecules. Water is a polar molecule. The oxygen atom carries a slight positive charge, while the hydrogen atoms carry slight negative charges. This is the result of the large difference in electronegativity between oxygen and hydrogen. When two water molecules are next to each other, the partially positive hydrogen will be attracted to the partially negative oxygen. This attraction is known as a hydrogen bond.
Ionic bonds, covalent bonds, and double bonds are all intramolecular forces. These are stable bonds between atoms that establish the identity of the molecule. Breaking any of these bonds would alter the identity of the compound.
Example Question #3 : Help With Intermolecular Forces
Water has a higher boiling point than hydrogen sulfide due to which type of bonding?
Ionic bonding
Heisenberg bonding
Covalent bonding
London dispersion forces
Hydrogen bonding
Hydrogen bonding
Hydrogen bonding occurs between a hydrogen atom on one molecule and a very electronegative atom—namely oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine—on a neighboring molecule. This electrostatic force results in a stronger intermolecular bond than would otherwise be present without the hydrogen bond. A stronger intermolecular bond results in a higher boiling point.
Water (H2O) exhibits hydrogen bonding between the hydrogen of one water molecule and the oxygen of another water molecule. Since sulfur is not as electronegative as oxygen, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) does not exhibit hydrogen bonding. This is the reason why water is a liquid at room temperature, while hydrogen sulfide is a gas.
Wrong answers explained: Neither water nor hydrogen sulfide has ionic bonds. Both have covalent bonds and London dispersion force, but this does not explain why water's boiling point is higher. Heisenberg bonding does not exist and is a misleading answer option.
Example Question #4 : Help With Intermolecular Forces
Which of the following compounds will exhibit hydrogen bonding?
When hydrogen is bound to either fluorine, oxygen, or nitrogen, the hydrogen atom carries little of the electron density of the covalent bond. This partially positively charged hydrogen atom may interact with the partial negative charge located on adjacent electronegative atoms such as F, N, or O on adjacent molecules. Note that hydrogen bonds are intermolecular forces, not intramolecular. This means that hydrogen bonds form between two separate molecules. They plan an important role in the chemistry of water, and other compounds that exhibit hydrogen bonding.