University of the Philippines Cebu

High School Program

Gorordo Avenue, Lahug, Cebu City, Philippines

IMFAs in Action:
Confirming the Effects of the Intermolecular Forces of Attraction

Submitted By:
Alcantara, Hazel M.
2015-4242
Baring, Therese Antonette B.
2015-4246
Godino, Gernando C.
2015-4261
Lauron, Christian Laurenze C.
2015-4267
Librando, Camille Kate R.
2015-4268
Torilla, Catherine Ann B.
2015-4277

Submitted On:
26th April 2019
INTRODUCTION

An important part for understanding the interactions between molecules is

understanding the forces which act upon it. There are two types of forces that work on
molecules: intramolecular forces and intermolecular forces. Intramolecular forces occur
between atoms within a molecule and are responsible for chemical bonding. Whereas,
intermolecular forces of attraction (or IMFA’s) are attractions between one molecule and a
neighboring molecule due to electrostatic phenomena (Bungabong, 2004) and are
responsible for the condensed state of matter. This laboratory activity focuses on the latter
which is much weaker among the two types of forces.

There are four types of intermolecular forces: London Dispersion Forces,

Dipole-Dipole Interactions, Hydrogen bonds, and Ion-Dipole. London dispersion forces are
the weakest of all the intermolecular forces of attraction (Brown, et al., 2012). Polar
molecules give rise to dipole-dipole interactions which results from the electrostatic
attraction between the partial positive and negative charges present in polar molecules.
Hydrogen bonds are formed between molecules that contain hydrogen covalently bonded
to atoms of oxygen, fluorine, or nitrogen. A polar molecule may be attracted to an ion and
this gives rise to an ion-dipole force where negative ends of polar molecules are attracted to
cations and the positive end to anions.

Intermolecular forces play an important role in viscosity, phase transition

specifically the sublimation process and in the surface tension. Viscosity is defined as the
measure of the fluid’s resistance to flow (Katyal and Morrison, 2007). According to
Robinson, W., et al (2012), the IMFAs between the molecules of a liquid, the size and shape
and temperature determines the viscosity of the material. The more complex the structure
of the molecules of the liquid is, the more viscous it becomes because of the stronger
intermolecular forces present between molecules, thus making it difficult for molecules to
move past each other.

Matter exists in three phases under normal conditions of one atmospheric pressure
(atm) and room temperature. These three common states are solid, liquid, and gas. When
we look into the molecular level of these phases, the intermolecular forces in solids are the
strongest and are weakest in gases. This causes phase change to occur where one state can
transition to another state. One example is sublimation which is an endothermic process
and defined as the direct transition of a solid to a vapor without passing through a liquid
phase (McNaught & Wilson, 1997). In the process of sublimation, it requires an input of a
certain amount of energy in order to overcome the intermolecular forces (Robinson, et al,
2012).

On the other hand, the transition from a gas state to a solid state is called deposition.
Deposition is an exothermic process and the reverse phase transition of sublimation A
good example of a solid that could undergo sublimation and deposition are the iodine
crystals. Iodine is a dark violet solid that dissolves in alcohol and potassium iodide
(Rajendran, 2009).

Another characteristic dependent on intermolecular forces is the surface tension.

Surface tension is the energy required to increase the surface area of a liquid to increase the
length of a liquid surface by a given amount. According to a book written by Myers, R.
(2003), the greater the intermolecular forces, the greater is the surface tension. Given this,
surface tension has a direct relationship with the intermolecular forces of attraction in a
liquid.

The experimenters used viscosity, sublimation, and surface tension as the important
variables in this set of laboratory activities. Considering this, the, experimenters aimed to
explore the manifestations of these intermolecular forces of interaction by looking into the
viscosity between water and oil, sublimation and deposition of iodine crystals, and concept
of surface tension. By looking at these individual phenomena, the experimenters aim to
gather a more complete picture and understanding of IMFA’s in action.

METHODOLOGY

Comparing Viscosities of Different Liquids

The experimenters prepared the needed materials which were a 100 mL sample of
water, a 100 mL sample of oil, 50 mL beakers, a pipette, a rubber aspirator, and a stopwatch
for the experiment. After the materials were prepared, the experimenters cleaned and dried
the pipette. The experimenters began to pour 10 ml. of water into one of the beakers. They
drew the liquid into the pipette using the rubber aspirator. After waiting for the 0.0 mark,
one of the experimenters replaced the aspirator with his thumb to maintain the level of the
fluid until the stopwatch starts ticking.

Subsequently, the experimenter released some of the liquid until the liquid level
reached the 0.0 mark. While releasing some of the liquid, the experimenters kept the
pipette in an upright position and did not let its tip touch the bottom of the beaker.
Meanwhile, the other experimenters readied the stopwatch.

As the liquid was released from the 0.0 ml level, the other experimenters started the
stopwatch and stopped it once the liquid level reached the last mark on the pipette. Then,
the experimenters recorded the time from start to finish. These steps were repeated by the
experimenters for three times and got the average time of flow for water.

After the experimenters repeated the steps, the experimenters cleaned the pipette.
Subsequently, they performed the same procedure for the cooking oil. As the
experimenters performed the experiment, they recorded the results on a table.
Sublimation of Iodine

The experimenters used iodine crystals, ice, a 500 mL beaker, a watch glass, and a
hot plate upon performing the activity. First, 2 grams of iodine was placed inside a beaker.
The experimenters turned on the hot plate and placed the beaker above it. The beaker is
being heated slowly. The experimenters quickly set a watch glass above the beaker with ice
on it. The experimenters recorded their observations as it is being continually heated on
the hot plate.

After, the experimenters turned off the hot plate and removed the beaker by using a
crucible tong. The beaker was placed on a piece of wire gauze mat and it was left for
cooling for approximately five minutes. When the beaker was nearly back to its room
temperature, the experimenters poured in approximately 30 mL of methanol to wash the
iodine from the beaker.

Lastly, two beakers were prepared and were labeled beaker 1 and beaker 2. Beaker 1
and 2 contained the same amount of iodine. The experimenters poured approximately 30
mL of water to beaker 1 and approximately 30 mL of methanol to beaker B. The
experimenters recorded their observations.

The Sinking Blade

The experimenters prepared the following materials for the experiment which were
two 500 mL beakers, a sachet of powdered detergent, and two identical shaving blades.
After the materials were prepared, the experimenters got two beakers and filled each
beaker half-full of water. The experimenters added a pinch of detergent to one of the
beakers and stirred it.
 Subsequently, the experimenters carefully dropped identical shaving blades to each
container. After doing so, the experimenters made thorough observations and recorded
their observations.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Comparing Viscosities of Different Liquids

From the experiment, the experimenters found out the difference of the time needed
between oil and water to flow, which is illustrated at the table below.

Table 1. Amount of Time for the Fluid to Freely Reach the Pipette’s 0.0 Mark.

1 2 3 Mean

Oil 104 secs. 116 secs. 114 secs. 111.333… secs.

Water 10 secs. 10 secs. 8 secs. 9.333… secs.

Fig 1. Set-up A (left) with a pipette and water and Set-up B (right) with a pipette and oil
 The experimenters found out that the oil takes up more time to flow compared to
the water. This is because of the viscosity that is present more in oil than in water. In the
first attempt, it took around 104 seconds for the oil to flow, while it only took 10 seconds
for the water to reach the bottom of the pipette. For the second attempt, 116 seconds was
needed for the oil to flow and 114 secs on the third attempt. While, it only took 10 seconds
for the water to flow just like what happened in the first attempt, and 8 seconds on the
third attempt. Thus, with the data gathered, the experimenters computed a mean of
111.333 for the time allotted for the oil to flow and a mean of 9.33 for the water.

From the data the experimenters had gathered, it means that oil has a more viscous
characteristic compared to water, as what is shown in Table 1. A substance having higher
viscosity indicates that there is a greater, stronger intermolecular forces acting on the
molecules of the material which is to say that the molecules in oil tend to be entangled due
to the multiple intramolecular bonds resulting into numerous intermolecular interactions
(Clifford, 2018) compared to the molecules in water which is to why water only takes up to
10 seconds to flow, while oil takes up to 111 seconds to flow. And because of the
correlational relationship of viscosity and intermolecular forces, the viscosity of oil is
higher than in water.

Sublimation of Iodine
 Fig 2. Heating the Iodine Crystals

As shown by Fig 2, stalactite-like structures can be found at the bottom of the watch
glass, and this indicates that some process similar to the formation of stalactites must have
occurred on the iodine. In stalactite formation, water from above drips downward, ever so
slightly depositing solid material behind as it drips downward (Fuller, 2018; Britannica,
2018a). Add the fact that the iodine crystals were observed to drip from the watch glass,
and the experimenters inferred that the iodine crystals underwent a process of
condensation, following a path akin to the water forming stalactites. However, unlike
stalactites, the iodine crystallizes as its phase changes due to the transfer of heat energy
from the iodine gas to the cool watch glass.

Another notable observation is that some of the iodine vapor had condensed, after
approximately ten minutes, on the inward surface of the beaker. The experimenters
conjectured that the temperature of the inward surface must have been lower, from the fact
that it may have conducted some of the heat outside the beaker, which may have triggered
the same crystallization effect, in the same way, that crystals formed under a watch glass
cooled by the ice it had initially contained. Heat energy transfer in the form of an
exothermic reaction must have triggered an episode of intermolecular attraction between
the iodine and the cool surface (Rajendran, 2009), with added nuclei which may have
caused the dotted look of the resulting surface (Boyle, 2006).
 Fig 3. Iodine crystals in water (left) and Iodine crystals in methanol (right)

As shown in Figure 3, the iodine crystals are still visible and intact despite its
immersion in water, whereas the beaker at the right contained methanol which was able to
easily dissolve the iodine from the watch glass and heated beaker, creating what is known
as tincture of iodine (otherwise known as betadine). According to an article from the
University of Washington (2015), this is due to the fact that iodine is a nonpolar molecule
and that methanol is less polar than water itself. For solutes to be dissolved into solvents,
their polarities must remain equivalent, in order for solute-solvent interactions to properly
take place.

The Sinking Blade

Table 3. Observations from the sinking blade activity

Attempts Water (500 ml) Water (500 ml) with

detergent powder

1 The blade directly submerged the After 21 seconds, the blade

moment it was placed on the submerged from floating.
surface of water with detergent.

2 The blade again directly submerged On the second try, the

after being placed on the surface of experimenters tried to increase
the water. the amount of powder to three
pinches. But the blade still
submerged.

3 With an equal placement of blade The blade floated after it was

on the water, it floated. placed on the water with equal
placement on its part.
 Table 3 shows the experimenters observation after conducting the sinking blade
experiment. Three attempts were initiated to find out which solution can hold the blade
longer, the three trials had constant variables which were the blade and measure of water
in each beaker (500 ml).
When the blades in the experiment were placed differently on the beaker after two
attempts, the experimenters had different results. On the first attempt, the blade
immediately submerged in the beaker filled only with water, while it floated for around 21
seconds on the beaker with water and a pinch of detergent in it. And on the third attempt,
the blade was equally placed on the surface of the water (see Figure 4.). Both blades stayed
on the surface of the water until an external force - a sudden nudge, was applied to identify
which blade will remain on the surface of the water.

Fig 4. Third attempt after putting the blade equally on the water and
before applying external force
 The blade stayed on the surface of the pure water after being applied by an external
force while it submerged on the water with detergent (see Fig 4). The detergent in the
experiment acts as a surfactant which reduces the surface tension of the water making the
blade submerge.

Figure 4.1 After being applied by an external force

 Surfactants are compounds that lower the surface tension (or interfacial tension)
between two liquids, between a gas and a liquid, or between a liquid and a solid.
Surfactants may act as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents, and
dispersants (Rosen & Kunjappu, 2012). According to a book written by Myers, R. (2003),
the greater the intermolecular forces, the greater is the surface tension. Given this, surface
tension has a direct relationship with the intermolecular forces of attraction in a liquid.

CONCLUSION

Comparing Viscosities of Different Liquids

From the observations and results gathered, the experimenters concluded that the
intermolecular forces are one of the factors affecting viscosity of the material. IMFA’s affect
viscosity in a way that due to the strong intermolecular forces between molecules in a
liquid, the molecules tend to have difficulty in moving with respect to one another.
As for the case of oil, because the molecules seem to be closer compared to water,
that its structure was different from water - significantly longer and larger than that of
water, then, therefore, the oil takes up more time to flow.

Sublimation of Iodine
From the activity, the experimenters have confirmed the nature of iodine crystals, in
that it exhibits sublimation when experiencing heat, and deposition when experiencing the
opposite. This attests to the fact that phase change occurs upon the introduction of energy -
that the intermolecular forces involved in the creation of a crystal can be overcome by
overwhelming the atoms with energy (in this case, heat).
 The fact that methanol and not water has the ability to dissolve the iodine crystals
shows the importance of IMFA’s in dissolving salts. Succinctly put, an article from the
University of Washington (2015) writes that “If the solvent-solvent attractions or
solute-solute attractions are stronger than the solvent-solute attractions the solute won't
dissolve well.” - this is a good way to understand why polar solutes can only be dissolved by
polar solvents, and nonpolar solutes can only be dissolved by nonpolar solvents.

The Sinking Blade

As what the experimenters have observed, the activity produced inconsistent
results. This may be due to the unequal placement of the blade on the water. So, to ensure a
good result, the blade must be fairly and equally placed on the surface of the water.
Therefore, the experimenters have concluded that aside from the forces acting upon
the molecules of the water, another variable played an important role which is the
surfactant. Since the intermolecular forces in water are strong, the surface tension is high
making the blade float in the beaker with pure water. The detergent powder or the
surfactant breaks the interactions of the forces thus surface tension will decrease. This
caused the blade to sink in the beaker with detergent powder.

These activities have confirmed that the intermolecular forces of attraction are
present in a variety of phenomena, which can be observed in real-life, or mundane
situations, alluding to its relevance and presence in almost every interaction. Analysing
interactions in terms of IMFA’s truly provides a more objective and accurate frame of
thought. The experimenters recommend that future experimenters pursue observing and
analysing IMFA’s by looking into other everyday phenomena.
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