Hi there,

Question

I have to create a paragraph discussing 1-pentanol, 1-decanol and 1-butanol in regards to the principles of
intermolecular bonding.
Which one of the molecules have stronger intermolecular forces and why?

Could you give me some pointers or tips I'm having difficulty on what i should write about.

Answer 1

All three are alcohols; therefore, they differ only in the length of the hyrocarbon chain. In general, the longer the chain, the lower the H bonding because the polarity is lower. So you might look up the boiling points, melting points, hydrogen bonding strengths, etc.
Here is a site that talks about the difference between intramolecular and intermolecular forces. Scroll down a little further and you will see dipole-dipole, dipole-induced dipole, and induced dipole-induced dipole (also called instantaneous dipole-induced dipole). All three molecules will have differences in those three categories which should provide a good bit of material to write your paper.
http://chemed.chem.purdue.edu/genchem/topicreview/bp/intermol/intermol.html

Answer 2

Thank you.

This is what I have so far, do you mind telling me what else I should add to this.

1-decanol has the strongest intermolecular forces followed by 1-pentanol and 1-butanol with the weakest intermolecular forces. The reason for this is because 1-decanol has the most London forces and the longest chain consisting of 4 carbons, 10-hydrogens, and 1-oxygen whereas 1-butanol has 4-carbons, 10-hydrogens and 1-oxygen. 1-decanol has the highest boiling point of 232.9 °C subsequently 1-pentanol with 138°C and 1-butanol with 117°C which proves that the intermolecular forces in 1-decanol are the strongest of the three.