Attachment #37: Topic Outline

The Kinetic Molecular Theory of Liquids and Solids

- Molecules of liquid are held more strongly than those in gas. They are closer to
one another and their motion is limited, but this is still sufficient to allow them
to slide past one another. Thus, liquids flow.
- Liquids expand slightly when temperature is increased.
- The rate of diffusion is much lower in gases.
- Molecules of solids are packed together or “locked in” which make them
incompressible.
- The diffusion in solid is at a much lower rate than in liquids.
- Solids expand slightly with an increase in temperature.

Properties of Liquids
1. Evaporation
- The slow escape of molecules from the surface of the liquid to the
atmosphere.
**At a given temperature, the molecules in a particular liquid do not have
the same kinetic energy.
- The molecules with higher kinetic energy overcome the intermolecular
forces of attraction and breakaway from the surface of the liquid and
escape into the atmosphere as vapor.
**Evaporation has cooling effect.
**Evaporation is faster during a windy day or when the weathers hot.
**The weaker the forces of attraction between the particles of the liquid,
the faster are the evaporation process.

Volatile Liquids - liquids that evaporate easily/rapidly

**non polar molecules evaporate more rapidly than polar molecules to the
weaker molecular attraction of nonpolar substances.

Factors Affecting the Rate of Evaporization:

a.The nature of the liquid
- ethanol evaporates more quickly than water.
b. The temperature of the liquid
- hot water evaporates more quickly than cold water
c.The surface are of the liquid
- glass of water evaporates more quickly than water in bottle

2. Vapor Pressure
- The pressure exerted by the gas of that substance when it is in
equilibrium with the liquid.
***Vapor pressure increases as temperature increases.
- The average Kinetic Energy of the molecules increases when the
temperature increases.
 3. Boiling Point
- The temperature at which the vapor pressure of the liquid is equal to the
vapor pressure of the surrounding atmosphere.
- Boiling: the process at which bubbles of vapor begin to appear after
sometime throughout the liquid.
- The boiling point of a liquid varies with atmospheric pressure
- The normal boiling point is, measured at standard atmospheric pressure.
- Boiling point is a function of pressure.

4. Surface Tension
- Property of a liquid that tends to draw the surface molecules into the body of
the liquid and reduces the surface to a minimum; due to the unbalanced
forces acting on the surface molecules, the effect is a membrane-like film
coating on the surface of the liquid.
- Surfactants or surface-active agents - substances that reduce the surface
tension of water.

***Attractive forces are equal in all directions inside the body of the liquid
where a given molecule is completely surrounded by other molecules, thus,
they counteract one another, and no net balanced force remains in the
molecule.

***On the surface of the liquid, a molecule is not completely surrounded by

nearby molecules. The region above such a surface molecule is relatively
vacant. Such a molecule is attracted by its neighbors on the surface and the
molecules below it. This results in a net unbalanced attractive force directed
into the interior of the liquid. The effect is that the surface molecules from
an encasing film on the liquid which is relatively quite tough.

5. Capillary Action
- the rise or depression of the surface of a liquid inside a small-diameter tube
penetrating the surface
- Forces of cohesion - attractive forces between the molecules of a liquid.
- Forces of adhesion - attractive forces between the molecules of the liquid
and the molecules of its container.

***If the forces of adhesion are greater than the forces of cohesion, the
liquid will wet the container. The reverse, the liquid will draw away from the
container and will not wet it.
***The amount of change in the level of the liquid in the tube is directly
proportional to the surface tension of the liquid.

Critical Temperature and Pressure

***Boiling occurs only when the liquid is in an open container, it does not occur
in a closed container.
Critical Temperature - the highest temperature at which a gas maybe changed into a
liquid by increasing its pressure.
Critical Pressure - the pressure that is applied to change the gas into the liquid state.
 ***A gas cannot be liquefied above its critical temperature because the
molecules have enough kinetic energy to overcome the attractive forces that
would cause liquefaction.

Critical Temperatures and Pressures of Some Substances

Substances Critical Temperature (K) Critical Pressure (atm)
H2O 647 218
SO2 430 78
NH3 406 112
He 5 2
H2 33 13
O2 154 50
CH4 191 46
CO2 304 73
N2 126 34

***A high critical temperature indicates strong attractive forces.

***A low critical temperature indicates weak attractive forces.