General Chemistry 2

GENERAL CHEMISTRY 2
SPECIALIZED SUBJECT
ACADEMIC
SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING, and MATHEMATICS

Compiled and arranged according to the needs of STEM students of

Christian Ecclesiastical School.

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General Chemistry 2

1. INTERMOLECULAR FORCES
A Kinetic-Molecular View
Whether a substance is a gas, liquid, or solid depends on the interplay of the potential energy of the
intermolecular attractions, which tends to draw the molecules together, and the kinetic energy of the
molecules, which tends to disperse them. According to Coulomb’s law, the potential energy depends on the
charges of the particles and the distances between them. The average kinetic energy, which is related to the
particles’ average speed, is proportional to the absolute temperature.

STATE SHAPE AND VOLUME COMPRESSIBILTY ABILITY TO FLOW

Gas Conforms to the shape and volume of High High
container
Liquid Conforms to shape of container; volume Very low Moderate
limited by surface
Solid Maintains its own shape and volume Almost none Almost none
Table 1-1. A Macroscopic Comparison of Gases, Liquids, and Solids

We distinguish among the three states by focusing on three properties – shape, compressibility, and ability to
flow. The following kinetic-molecular view of the three states is an extension of the model we used to
understand gases:

 In a gas, the energy of attraction is small relative to the energy of motion; so, on average, the particles
are far apart. This large interparticle distance has several macroscopic consequences. A gas moves
randomly throughout its container and fills it. Gases are highly compressible, and they flow and diffuse
easily through one another.
 In a liquid, the attractions are stronger because the particles are in virtual contact. But their kinetic
energy still allows them to tumble randomly over and around each other. Therefore, a liquid conforms
to the shape of its container but has a surface. With very little free space between the particles, liquids
resist an applied external force and thus compress only very slightly. They flow and diffuse but much
more slowly than gases.
 In a solid, the attractions dominate the motion so much that the particles remain in position relative to
one another, jiggling in place. With the positions of the particles fixed, a solid has a specific shape and
does not flow significantly. The particles are usually slightly closer together than in a liquid, so solids
compress even less than liquids.

Types of Phase Changes

Phase changes are also determined by the interplay between kinetic energy and intermolecular forces. As the
temperature increases, the average kinetic energy increases as well, so the faster moving particles can
overcome attractions more easily; conversely, lower temperatures allow the forces to draw the slower moving
particles together.

What happens when gaseous water is cooled? A mist appears as the particles form microdroplets that then
collect into a bulk sample of liquid with a single surface. The process by which a gas changes into a liquid is
called condensation; the opposite process, changing from a liquid into gas, is called vaporization. With further
cooling, the particles move even more slowly and become fixed in position as the liquid solidifies in the process
of freezing; the opposite is called melting, or fusion. In common speech, the term freezing implies low

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temperature because we typically think of water. But, most metals, for example, freeze (solidify) at much
higher temperature, and this change has many medical, industrial, and artistic applications: gold dental
crowns, steel auto bodies, bronze statues, and so forth.

As the molecules of a gas attract each other and come closer together in the liquid, and then become fixed in
the solid, the system of particles loses energy, which is released as heat. Thus, condensing and freezing are
exothermic changes. On the other hand, energy must be absorbed to overcome the attractive forces that keep
the particles in a liquid together and those that keep them fixed in place in a solid. Thus, melting and
vaporizing are endothermic changes.

Water is typical of most pure substances in that it takes less energy to melt 1 mole of solid water than to
vaporize the same amount of liquid water. The reason is that a phase change is essentially a change in
intermolecular distance and freedom of motion. Less energy is needed to overcome the forces holding the
molecules in fixed positions (melt a solid) than to separate them completely from each other (vaporize a
liquid).

The three states of water are so common because they all are stable under ordinary conditions. Carbon
dioxide, on the other hand, is familiar as a gas and a solid (dry ice), but liquid CO2 occurs only at external
pressure greater than 5 atm. At ordinary conditions, solid CO2 becomes a gas without first becoming a liquid.
This process is called sublimation. On a clear wintry day, you can dry clothes outside on a line, even though it
may be too cold for ice to melt, because the ice cube sublimes. Freeze-dried foods are prepared by
sublimation. The oposite process, changing from a gas directly into solid, is called deposition – you may have
seen ice crystals form on a cold window from the deposition of water vapor.

Figue 1-1. A Macroscopic Comparison of Gases, Liquids, and Solids

Vapor Pressure
If a liquid is placed in a closed container, the molecules that escape from the liquid (evaporate) into the gas
phase will cause a pressure on the container. After a very short peiod of time, the rate at which molecules are
leaving the liquid become equal to the rate at which other molecules are going back into the liquid phase since

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the container is closed. This is described as a condition of equilibrium at which the rate of evaporation is equal
to the rate of condensation. At this equilibrium point, the molecules in the gas phase will exert a certain
pressure on the container at a given temperature. This pressure is known as the vapor pressure of the liquid at
that temperature.

As the temperature of a liquid increases, the vapor pressure increases. For liquids at the same temperature,
the weaker forces of attraction between particles, the greater the vapor pressure will be. Notice on the graph
below that the vapor pressure of each substance increases with temperature. At any given temperature,
however, the vapor pressure of water is lower than the vapor pressure of alcohol.

Figure 1-2. Vapor Pressure versus Temperature

Boiling Point
When the vapor pressure of liquid becomes equal to the pressure of the atmosphere against the liquid, the
liquid boils. Therefore, boiling point is defined as the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid is
equal to the atmospheric pressure. As atmospheric pressure decreases, boiling point decreases; as
atmospheric pressure increases, boiling point increases. Since standard pressure is taken as 1 atm or 760 torr,
the normal boiling point is defined as the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid is equal to 760
torr. Thus we can see in Figure 1-2 that the normal boiling point of ethyl alcohol is about 78 ˚C, whereas, the
normal boiling point of water is 100 ˚C. Take note that 101.325 kPa is equal to 1 atm.
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Boiling point varies with the forces of attraction between the particles. Hence, in general, polar substances
have higher boiling points than nonpolar substances. Likewise, if various polar substances are being compared,
the more polar one will have the higher normal boiling point. If nonpolar substances are being compared, the
one with the higher molecular (formula) weight will have the higher normal boiling point.

At higher altitudes where the atmospheric pressure is less, the boiling point of a given liquid is lower than the
normal boiling point. For example, at altitude of about 5,000 ft., which is approximately the altitude of the city
of Denver, Colorado, the boiling point of water is about 95 ˚C. In cooking foods in boiling water, the lower the
temperature of the boiling water, the slower the food will cook. Thus, at higher altitudes where the boiling
point is decreased, foods will cook more slowly. The same principle is applied in the use of pressure cooker to
cook foods at a more rapid rate. In the pressure cooker when the container is sealed up and heat is applied,
pressrue builds up inside the container and thus the boiling of the water present is increased. Therefore, the
food is being cooked at a higher temperature and will cook faster.

Specific Heat
The specific heat of a substance is the SPECIFIC HEAT
amount of heat required to produce a SUBSTANCE cal/g ˚C
given change in temperature for a Water (liquid) 1.00
given mass of the substance. In the Aluminum 0.217
metric system, this is usually Lead 0.031
expressed as the number of calories Sugar 0.299
Silver 0.056
necessary to increase the temperature
Sodium Chloride 0.204
of one gram by one degree Celsius.
Table 1-2 lists the specific heat of few Table 1-2. Specific Heat of Some Substances
substances.

Consider the following calculations involving specific heat.

SAMPLE PROBLEM

How many calories would be required to raise the temperature of 45.0 g of sodium chloride from 25.0 ˚C to
85.0 ˚C?

SOLUTION:

Q = mc∆T
Where, Q = amount of heat energy

m = mass of the substance

c = specific heat of the substance

∆T = change in temperature

0.204 𝑐𝑎𝑙
Q = 45.0 g x 1 𝑔 𝑥 1 ˚𝐶 x (85.0 - 25.0) ˚C = 551 calories

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Heat of Vaporization
Specific heat is defined as the amount of heat necessary to raise the temperature of a given amount of
substance by 1 degree Celsius, usually expressed as cal/g˚C; that is, it takes a certain amount of heat to raise
the temperature of 1 g of a given substance by 1 ˚C. For water, this value is 1.00 cal/g˚C. At the boiling point of
a liquid, it also takes a certain amount of heat to convert a given amount of the liquid to gas. This is defined as
the heat of vaporization of a liquid and is usually expressed as calories per gram or kilocalories per mole (or
kilojoules per mole). Note that there is no change in temperature here. This is simply the amount of heat
necessary to change the state from liquid to gas at the normal boiling point. For example, the heat of
vaporization of water is 540 cal/g. Therefore, it takes 540 calories of heat to convert 1 g of liquid water to
stream at the normal boiling point. The heat of vaporization of liquids varies in the same way as boiling point
and other properties.

When a gas is condensed back into the liquid state, the same amount of heat is given off as was necessary to
vaporize the liquid originally. Thus, when 1 g of steam is condensed to liquid water, 540 calories of heat is
liberated. This explains why very severe burns can occur from steam. When the steam condenses on the skin,
this large amount of heat is being put into the skin and thus causes the burn.

Table 1-3 lists the heats of vaporization in various units for several different substances. Note from this table
that the ionic substance sodium chloride has the highest heat of vaporization, the very popular liquid water is
next highest, the slightly polar liquid ethyl alcohol is next, and the nonpolar liquid carbon tetrachloride is
lowest. The reason for the similarity in boiling points between ethyl alcohol and carbon tetrachloride is that
the alcohol is slightly polar but has relatively low molecular weight compared to the carbon tetrachloride.

NORMAL BOILING HEAT OF VAPORIZATION

LIQUID POINT (˚C) cal/g kcal/mol kJ/mol
Sodium Chloride 1,465 698 40.9 171
Water 100 540 9.72 40.6
Ethyl Alcohol 78.3 204 9.40 39.3
Carbon Tetrachloride 76.7 52.1 8.00 33.4

Table 1-3. Heat of Vaporization of Various Liquids at their Normal Boiling Point

Heat of Fusion
In discussing changes from the liquid to the gas phase at the boiling point, it was shown that a certain amount
of heat is necessary to carry out the conversion due to the attraction between the particles in the liquid. The
same thing is true in changing from the solid to the liquid state. It takes a certain amount of heat to convert a
given amount of solid to liquid at the freezing point. This amount of heat is called the heat of fusion and is
usually expressed as calories per gram, or kilocalories per mole (or kilojoules per mole). As with heat of
vaporization there is no change in temperature here; we are simply considering the amount of energy
necessary for a change of state at the melting point. The heat of fusion of water is 80 cal/g. Thus, it takes 80
calories to convert 1 g of ice to liquid water at the freezing point (0 ˚C). Table 1-4 lists the heat of fusion of
several solids.

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NORMAL BOILING HEAT OF VAPORIZATION

LIQUID POINT (˚C) cal/g kcal/mol kJ/mol
Sodium Chloride 804 124 7.25 30.3
Water 0 80 1.44 6.02
Ethyl Alcohol -117 24.9 1.15 4.81
Carbon Tetrachloride -23 4.2 0.64 2.68
Table 1-4. Heat of Fusion of Various Solids at their Melting Point

Figure 1-3. Energy, in the Form of Heat, Added

to a Substance versus Temperature Changes

SAMPLE PROBLEM

How much heat, in kilocalories, is required to convert 50.0 g of ice at 0˚C to steam at 100.0 ˚C?

SOLUTION:

Q = mc∆T and Q = mh
Where, Q = amount of heat energy

m = mass of the substance

c = specific heat of the substance

∆T = change in temperature

h = heat of vaporization (hv) of heat of fusion (hf)

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The changes that must be considered are as follows:

(a) Convert solid to liquid, at 0 ˚C (use heat of fusion)

(b) Increase temperature of liquid from 0 ˚C to 100 ˚C (use specific heat)
(c) Convert liquid to gas at 100 ˚C (use heat of vaporization)

80.0 𝑐𝑎𝑙
Q1 = mhf = 50.0 g x = 4,000 cal = 4.00 kcal
1𝑔

1.00 𝑐𝑎𝑙
Q2 = mc∆T = 50.0 g x 1 𝑔 𝑥 1 ˚𝐶 x (100.0 – 0) ˚C = 5,000 cal = 5.00 kcal

540 𝑐𝑎𝑙
Q3 = mhv = 50.0 g x = 27,000 cal = 27.0 kcal
1𝑔

Therefore, the total amount of heat from all three steps is:

Qt = Q1 + Q2 + Q3 = 4.00 kcal + 5.00 kcal + 27.0 kcal = 36.0 kcal

Surface Tension
The surface tension of a liquid is the property that tends to pull
the molecules at the surface of a liquid in toward the body of the
liquid and thus reduce the surface to a minimum. This is caused
by the fact that within the body of the liquid each molecule is
attracted to others in all directions, but at the surface they are
only attracted in toward the body of the liquid.

The stronger the force of attraction between the particles are, the
greater will be the surface tension. For example, mercury has a
higher surface tension than water, due to the greater forces of
attraction from the metallic bonds in the mercury.

As the temperature of the liquid increases, the surface tension

decreases. This is due to the fact that the increased kinetic
energy of the molecules tend to overcome the attractive forces Figure 1-4. Molecular Interaction in Liquids
Causing Tension at the Surface
between particles and thus the surface tension is lowered. Part
of the cleansing action of soaps is due to a lowering of the
surface tension of water, although there are other factors involved also.

Phase Diagram
A phase diagram is graph giving the relationship among the solid, liquid, and gaseous states of a given
substance as a function of the temperature and pressure. For example, the phase diagram of water is given in
Figure 1-5. This describes the state in which water will exist under any given conditions of temperature and

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pressure. At point A, water will exist only as gas. At point B, water exists in two phases in equilibrium; in this
case, solid and liquid, and hence point B is the melting point of water of 1 atm pressure, or the normal melting
point. At point C, water can exist in three phases in equilibrium. This is called the triple point and is 0.01 ˚C at
4.6 torr. Point D corresponds to the normal boiling point of water.

A gas can be converted to to a liquid by increasing the pressure, which forces the molecules together so that
the forces of attraction between them can cause the molecules to be attracted to each other and thus form a
liquid. For each gas there is a temperature above which the gas cannot be liquified, however, no matter how
much pressure is applied. This is due to the fact that above this temperature the molecules have such high
kinetic energy that they cannot be forced together sufficiently to cause the gas to become a liquid. This
temperature, which is different for each gas, is called the critical temperature and is defined as the
temperature above which a gas cannot be liquified, no matter how much pressure is applied.

The pressure is necessary to liquify the gas when it is at the critical temperature is called critical pressure.

Critical temperature and pressure vary for different gases in the same way that properties such as melting and
boiling points vary; that is, the stronger the forces of attraction are for a particular substance, the higher the
critical temperature is and the lower the critical pressure.

Figue 1-5. Phase Diagram of Water

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Intramolecular and Intermolecular Forces

Imagine yourself among the particles of a molecular substance, HF, and you’ll discover two types of
electrostatic forces at work:

1. Intramolecular forces (bonding forces) exist within each molecule and influence the chemical
properties of the substance.
2. Intermolecular forces (nonbonding forces) exist between the molecules and influence the physical
properties of the substance.

HF atom 1 HF atom 2

Intramolecular Intermolecular

Figure 1-6. Illustration of intramolecular and intermolecular forces

Now imagine a molecular view of the three states of water, as an example, and focus on just one molecule for
each state. They look identical – bent, polar H – O – H molecules. In fact, the chemical behavior of the three
states is identical because their molecules are held together by the same intramolecular bonding forces.
However, the physical behavior of the states differs greatly because the strengths of the intermolecular
nonbonding forces differ greatly.

Attractive Forces in Liquids and Solids

The attractive forces between particles are very important in
considering the liquid and solid states and changes of state. There are
five types of attractive force that we shall consider: ionic, covalent,
metallic, dipole, and van der Waals.

Ionic Attraction
Ionic bond is electrostatic attraction between two oppositely charged
ions. This is rather strong force of attraction, especially when we
consider that in an ionic crystal, each negative ion is surrounded by
positive ions and each positive ion is surrounded by negative ions. An
ion with a relatively small size and relatively high charge is said to
have a high charge density. The greater the charge density is on the
ions in a crystal, the stronger are the forces of attraction. Figure 1-7

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Covalent Bond
Another type of attractive force that we shall consider is the covalent
bond between atoms in a macromolecular substance, such as a
diamond. A macromolecular substance is considered to be one large
molecule. The attractive forces that must be overcome to melt or boil
one of these substances are the covalent bonds between atoms.
These attractive forces are extremely great and it takes a very high
temperature to melt a substance of this type. Along with the
diamond, another common macromolecular substance is silison
dioxide (SiO2), which is principal constituent of sand.

Metallic Bond Figure 1-8

The metallic bond is generally considered
to consist of a group of positive ions and a
sea of electrons, which are free to move
about among the ions. This accounts for
the general properties of metals, such as
their ability to conduct electric current. For
example, in a piece of sodium metal the
“ions” are held in a fixed position in the
metal and the valence electrons (one from
each sodium atom) are free to move about
among the various electron clouds. This
type of bonding can be considered to be
somewhat between ionic and covalent
bonding; that is, the valence electrons are
not transferred from one atom to another
and are not shared between any two
atoms in a moloecular orbital but are free Figure 1-9
to move about among the various electron
clouds.

Therefore, in metals the forces of attraction that must be overcome to convert from the solid to the liquid
state, or from the liquid to the gas state, are quite strong. Of course, these attractive forces vary from one
metal to another but in general they are quite strong.

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Dipole Attraction
In a polar covalent compound, one part of the
molecule has a partial positive charge and
another part has a partial negative charge.
This is therefore considered as a dipole. Thus,
the positive portion of one molecule will be
attracted toward the negative portion of
another. The more polar the compound is, the
greater these forces of attraction will be.
Therefore, within this class of polar covalent
compounds there is considerable variation between the attractive forces. This causes variation in the
properties such as melting and boiling points.

Van der Waals Forces

Even in a completely nonpolar substance, such as oxygen, hydrogen, or helium gas, there are weak forces of
attraction between the particles. In the gas state, these forces are negligible; but as the gas is cooled down and
compressed, it eventually becomes a liquid. In this state, there must be some force of attraction in order to
hold the particles together. These weak forces
of attraction in nonpolar substances are Figure 1-10. Dipole Attraction
referred to either as van der Waals forces or
London dispersion forces. They are generally
considered to be caused by a temporary dipole
being formed as the electrons move about in
the substance. This causes a very weak force of
attraction for a short period of time and then
another temporary dipole is formed.

This type of attractive force probably exists in

all substances, but it is so much weaker than
the ionic attraction in ionic compounds or the
dipole-dipole attraction in polar covalent Figure 1-11. Van der Waals Force
substances that is negligible in this these
compounds. In the absence of any other type of attractive forces, however, these very weak ones are
important.

Since the number of electrons in a substance increases with the fromula weight, the van der Waals forces also
increase with increasing formula weight. Thus we shall see that those properties of liquids and solids that
depend on the forces of attraction between particles (such as melting and boiling point) vary with formula
weight for all substances but that this variation is most noticeable for nonpolar substances.

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Hydrogen Bond
Hydrogen bond or H-bond arises when hydrogen atom bonded to
highly electronegative atoms such as nitrogen, oxygen, or fluorine.

Hydrogen bonds can be intermolecular (occurring between separate

molecules) or intramolecular (occurring among parts of the same
molecule). Depending on the nature of the donor and acceptor atoms
which constitute the bond, their geometry, and environment. It is
somewhat stronger than a van der Waals interaction, and weaker than
fully covalent or ionic bonds. This type of bond can occur in inorganic
molecules such as water and in organic molecules like DNA and
proteins.
Figure 1-12. Hydrogen Bond

This article was adapted from:

"Chemistry (The Molecular Nature of Matter and Change)" by Martin S. Silberberg, pages 425-427.

“Fundamentals of Chemistry (Special Philippine Edition)” by Fred H. Redmore, pages 25-26, 270-278,
280, 283-284.

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