Explain why chlorine (Cl²) is a gas at room temperature, but at sodium chloride (NaCL) is a solid at room temperature.
1 answer
Therefore chlorine has a low boiling point and so is a gas at room temperature. In contrast, sodium chloride is a solid at room temperature as it is a giant ionic compound. The individual sodium and chloride ions are held together by electrostatic forces of attraction between the oppositely charged ions