Chapter 10, Problem 10ALQ

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

The strongest one between intermolecular forces and intramolecular forces has to be identified and the same has to be justified.

Concept introduction:

Every atom strives to attain lowest possible energy in their shells. This is the driving force of atoms to combine with other atoms in so called “chemical reactions”. At the lowest possible energy levels, atoms and molecules attain utmost stability.

Reaching the lowest energy is not only the essential criterion for the molecules of matter to be stable. There are many other factors that have role in determining the stability of a substance. “Intermolecular forces” and “Intramolecular forces” are two such factors that have significant impact on the stability of matter.

In simple words, Intermolecular forces are termed as the forces acting “between molecules” that is components of a substance. Intramolecular forces are the forces that operate “within a molecule”. The prefix “inter” mean “among” and “intra” mean “within”.

Atoms do combine to form a molecule. Within a molecule, the atoms are held together by intramolecular forces. Many molecules are formed by such instance. Matter is composed of many such innumerable molecules which are held together by intermolecular forces. There are many types of intermolecular forces and intramolecular forces which can be summarized as follows –

                                                             Figure 1

     

                                                            Figure 2

Intermolecular forces are Van der Waals forces. They are weaker than intramolecular forces and have three types - London dispersion forces, dipole-dipole forces and hydrogen bonding. Hydrogen bonding is the strongest one among all the intermolecular forces.