Properties of

Liquids and
Intermolecular
Forces
 PROPERTIES OF LIQUIDS
 The kinetic energy of the molecules break
away from their neighbor, and the particles
are joined by intermolecular forces.
 Most liquids exist as molecules at room
temperature.
 physical properties of liquids depend on the
type of the different intermolecular forces
 Surface Tension

 Surface tension is the force that

causes the surface of a liquid to
contract.
 It is the property of the surface of a
liquid that allows it to resist an external
force due to the cohesive nature of its
molecules.
 The surface tension of a liquid results from an
imbalance of intermolecular attractive forces,
the cohesive forces between molecules
 A molecule in the bulk liquid experiences
cohesive forces with other molecules in all
directions.
 A molecule at the surface of a liquid
experiences only net inward cohesive forces.
 Cohesion is the intermolecular attraction
between like molecules (the liquid molecules).
 Adhesion is an attraction between unlike
molecules (such as those in water and in the
particles that make up the glass tube.
 These forces also define the shape of the
surface of a liquid in a cylindrical container
(meniscus)
Surface Tension
A microscopic view of water
illustrates the difference between
molecules at the surface of a liquid
and water molecules within a
liquid.
Surface Tension
 The difference in strength between cohesive forces
and adhesive forces determine the behavior of a liquid in
contact with a solid surface.

Water does not wet waxed surfaces because the

cohesive forces within the drops are stronger than the
adhesive forces between the drops and the wax.

Water wets glass and spreads out on it because the

adhesive forces between the liquid and the glass are
stronger than the cohesive forces within the water.
 Surface Tension
 strength of surface tension depends on the
_____________

 If the intermolecular force of attraction of a

liquid is strong, then there is a greater force
needed to __________ through the surface
and the ____________ the surface tension
is.
Formation of a Meniscus
 cohesive forces between the liquid molecules
are greater than the adhesive forces between
the liquid and the walls of the container, the
surface of the liquid is CONVEX.
 cohesive forces between the liquid molecules
are lesser than the adhesive forces between
the liquid and the walls of the container, the
surface of the liquid is CONCAVE.
 Capillary Action
 is the tendency of a liquid to rise in narrow tubes or
be drawn into small openings such as those
between grains of a rock.

 Capillary action, also known as capillarity, is a result

of intermolecular attraction between the liquid and
solid materials.
 Occurs when the adhesive force is stronger than the
cohesive force
What is the relationship between strength of
intermolecular forces and capillary action?

The stronger the

intermolecular forces, the
higher the capillarity
 Viscosity
 a measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow. The
greater the viscosity, the slower the liquid flows.
 difference in viscosity between the two liquids is a
measure of their intermolecular force of attraction
 liquid with low intermolecular force allows its
molecules to move freely and has a lower viscosity
 expressed in units of centipoise.
 Water has viscosity of 1 centipoise or 0.001 Pa/s at
o
20 C.
The table below gives viscosities of liquids
of some pure substances.
Which of the two substances has a higher
viscosity?
Consider the table of viscosities that follow. All the
substances in the list are hydrocarbons and
nonpolar.

What causes the differences in viscosities of the

hydrocarbon?
 Arrange the following substances in
order of increasing viscosity.
Blood Hotcake syrup
Castor oil Lava
Peanut butter Ketchup
Water Honey
Latex house paint Milk
Hershey’s chocolate syrup
What is happening to the water molecules in the two
flasks shown in the picture?

1. When the rate of

condensation of the
gas becomes equal
to the rate of
evaporation of the
liquid, the gas in the
container is said to
be in equilibrium
with the liquid.
2. liquid ⇋ vapor (gas)
 Vapor Pressure

 Vaporization is a phase change from liquid to gas,

while the opposite process (gas to liquid) is
condensation.
 When liquid molecules break free from their
neighbors and escape into the gas phase, the
process is called evaporation.
 Vapor Pressure

 Vapor is used to refer to the gaseous phase of a

substance

 When the rate of condensation of the gas

becomes equal to the rate of evaporation of the
liquid, the gas in the container is said to be in
equilibrium with the liquid.
 Define vapor pressure
 the molecules in the gaseous state
over its liquid create a pressure
 greater the number of gaseous
particles, the greater the pressure
exerted by the gas

 Define vapor pressure
 pressure exerted by the gas in
equilibrium with a liquid in a closed
container at a given temperature is
called the equilibrium vapor
pressure or simply vapor pressure
of the liquid
 Define vapor pressure
 EQUILIBRIUM VAPOR PRESSURE
is the maximum vapor pressure of a
liquid at a given temperature and that
it is constant at a constant
temperature.
 It increases with temperature
 H2O @ 250C 0.0313atm /23.8mmHG

 Vapor Pressure

 the stronger these intermolecular forces

are, the greater the amount of energy
needed to break them
 Volatile liquids are liquids with high vapor
pressures, which tend to evaporate readily
from an open container
 Vapor Pressure

 There are substances that evaporate readily

 They have weak intermolecular forces of attraction
 alcohol, gasoline, paint thinner, and dry-cleaning
solvents
 These substances burn more readily since they
easily combine with Oxygen
 MOLAR HEAT OF VAPORIZATION AND
BOILING POINT

 MOLAR HEAT OF VAPORIZATION (ΔHvap) is the

energy required to vaporize 1 mole of a liquid at a
given temperature.
 H is the symbol for enthalpy, which means heat
content at a given standard condition
 Molar Heat of Vaporization
 The relationship between vapor pressure
and strength of intermolecular forces is
consistent with the trends in two other
properties of liquids, the enthalpy or molar
heat of vaporization and the boiling point of
the liquid.
 If the intermolecular attraction is strong, the
heat of vaporization will be high

 BOILING POINT
 The boiling point of a liquid is the
temperature at which the liquid changes into
a gas.
 A liquid boils when its vapor pressure equals
the pressure acting on the surface of the
liquid.
 The boiling point is the temperature at which
the vapor pressure of a liquid is equal to the
external pressure.
 The boiling point is related to the molar heat of
vaporization; the higher ΔHvap, the higher the
boiling point.

 The normal boiling point is the temperature at which

the liquid converts to a gas when the external
pressure is 1 atm. The normal boiling point of water
is 100 °C.
 Molar Heat of Vaporization

 The boiling point of a liquid depends on the external

pressure.

 Water @1 atm, boils at 100 °C, will the boiling

point increase or decrease if we lower the pressure
to 0.5 atm?

 Decrease, water boils at only 82 °C.