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CHEM 121 Studioby Learn4Less · UBC CHEM 121

CHEM 121 glossary

Boiling point

The temperature at which a liquid's vapour pressure equals the surrounding pressure, so it boils (the normal boiling point is at 1 atm). For a molecular substance it measures how strong the intermolecular forces are: stronger forces, higher boiling point.

Bar chart of values in KHF: 292.7 K; HCl: 188.1 K; HBr: 206.4 K; HI: 237.6 K0100200300K292.7HF188.1HCl206.4HBr237.6HI

HF breaks the size trend because it hydrogen-bonds.

Example

HX2O\ce{H2O} (18.0 g/mol) boils at 373.15 K but CHX4\ce{CH4} (16.0 g/mol) at 111.7 K: similar size, but water hydrogen-bonds and methane has only dispersion forces.