Group 3 - 11 Frost

Investigating
Intermolecular
Forces
EXPERIMENTATIONS
Exp 1: Solubility in Different Liquids

Exp 2: Surface Tension

Exp 3: Evaporation Rates

 EXPERIMENT #1

Solubility in
Different Liquids
Exploring the solubility of salt & sugar in each
liquid.
 Intermolecular Forces
OBSERVATIONS EXP NO. 1

For the first set of cups, a

small amount of salt was
added to each liquid and was
carefully stirred until it
dissolved. Results showed
that salt completely dissolved
in water, it didn’t dissolve at
all in oil, and partially
dissolved in rubbing alcohol.
For the second set of cups,
the same process was
conducted but this time with
sugar. Water, once again, fully
Equal amounts of water, vegetable oil, and rubbing dissolved the component,
alcohol were put into 6 separate cups.
Intermolecular Forces GUIDE QUESTIONS EXP NO. 1

1. What differences did you observe in the solubility of salt and sugar in
water, vegetable oil, and rubbing alcohol?

Water: Both salt and sugar dissolved completely in water, indicating

high solubility in this solvent.
Vegetable Oil: Neither salt nor sugar dissolved in vegetable oil,
suggesting low solubility in this non-polar solvent.
Rubbing Alcohol: Salt and sugar partially dissolved in rubbing alcohol,
indicating moderate solubility in this polar solvent.
 Intermolecular Forces GUIDE QUESTIONS EXP NO. 1

2. Explain the kind of intermolecular forces exhibited in each substance used in the experiment.

Water: Intermolecular forces: Hydrogen bonding

a. Explanation: Water molecules are polar, with a positive and negative end. They attract
each other strongly through hydrogen bonds. This allows water to dissolve polar
substances like salt and sugar

Vegetable Oil: Intermolecular forces: Dispersion forces

a. Explanation: Vegetable oil is nonpolar, so its molecules are held together by weaker
dispersion forces. It cannot dissolve polar substances like salt and sugar.

Rubbing Alcohol: Intermolecular forces: Hydrogen bonding and dispersion forces

a. Explanation: Rubbing alcohol contains a polar part (hydroxyl group) and a non-polar part
(hydrocarbon chain). It can dissolve some polar substances due to hydrogen bonding
but has limited ability to dissolve non-polar substances.
 Intermolecular Forces GUIDE QUESTIONS EXP NO. 1

3. Which liquid exhibited the strongest intermolecular forces based on solubility, and why?

Water exhibited the strongest intermolecular forces because it can form strong hydrogen
bonds due to its polarity. This allows it to dissolve polar substances like salt and sugar more
effectively compared to vegetable oil and rubbing alcohol.
 EXPERIMENT #2

Surface Tension

Exploring how surface tension varies in each liquid

through a paper clip!
OBSERVATIONS

For this experiment, 3 separate

cups were filled, almost at the
brim, with water, vegetable oil,
and rubbing alcohol. To test
the surface tension of each
liquid, we carefully placed a
paper clip on top of each
surface to see if it would either
sink or float. Per our
observations, the paper clip
successfully floated on water
but sank for the vegetable oil
and rubbing alcohol (either
slowly or fast-paced).
 GUIDE QUESTIONS EXP NO. 2

1. What happened to the paperclip or coin when placed on the surface of water,
vegetable oil, and rubbing alcohol?
Upon placing the paperclip, firstly, on the surface of the water, the
paperclip remained afloat. While using vegetable oil and rubbing alcohol,
despite trying to place the paperclip slowly on top of each surface, it
immediately sank to the bottom of the cup.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS EXP NO. 2

2. Explain the kind of intermolecular forces exhibited in each substance used in the
experiment.
Water exhibits a high surface tension thanks to its molecules having a
strong hydrogen bond. This allows it to form droplets around the
paperclip and help support it which makes it stay afloat. On the other
hand, vegetable oil has nonpolar molecules and possesses London
dispersion forces which are one of the weakest types of intermolecular
forces, making the paperclip sink to the bottom of the cup. Lastly, rubbing
alcohol has dispersion forces, dipole-dipole interactions, and hydrogen
bonding (like water). However, despite possessing these it still fails to
keep the paperclip afloat since it still doesn’t have enough surface
tension to support the paperclip.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS EXP NO. 2

3. Which liquid demonstrated the highest surface tension, and how might this be
connected to its molecular properties?
Out of all the liquids: water, alcohol, and oil, water usually has the highest
surface tension. The cohesive forces that exist between molecules at a
liquid's surface are measured by surface tension. Because of the uneven
distribution of electrons within the molecule, water molecules are polar,
meaning they have a partial positive charge on one end and a partial
negative charge on the other. Water's high surface tension is due to its
strong hydrogen bonding between molecules, which creates a stretched
layer at the surface. This cohesive force makes it difficult to break. In
contrast, alcohol and nonpolar oils have lower surface tension due to their
weak hydrogen bonding capabilities. Water's polar nature and hydrogen
bonding contribute to its high surface tension, while alcohol and oil have
lower surface tension due to their weak hydrogen bonding capabilities.
 EXPERIMENT #3

Evaporation
Rates

Exploring the rate of evaporation of each liquid!

OBSERVATIONS

With this experiment, there were

three cups containing the same
amount of oil, alcohol, and water.
The evaporation rates of each
liquid were tested, in which all
three cups were put under the
heat of the sun. As per
observation, the oil did not
evaporate at all. Water, on the
other hand, evaporated leaving a
0.6 cm distance away from its
original measurement, however,
the quickest to evaporate was
the rubbing alcohol with a 4 cm
distance away from its original
measurement.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS

1. How did the evaporation rates of water, vegetable oil, and rubbing alcohol
compare?

Water: evaporates more slowly compared to rubbing alcohol.

Oil: evaporation rates of vegetable oil is generally slower than that of rubbing
alcohol.
Rubbing Alcohol: the evaporation rates of rubbing alcohol is fast, making it the
quickest to evaporate among all three liquids.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS

2. Explain the kind of intermolecular forces exhibited in each substance used in the
experiment

Water molecules are polar, which means they have a positive and negative end because of
the unequal sharing of electrons between oxygen and hydrogen atoms. Water exhibits
hydrogen bonding which is a strong intermolecular force.
Oil molecules are nonpolar and usually consist of long hydrocarbon chains. The
intermolecular forces in oil are mainly van der Waals forces, dispersion forces to be exact.
These forces come from temporary dipoles made by the movement of electrons within
the molecules
Alcohol molecules can depend, but usually alcohols like ethanol are polar because of the
hydroxyl group. Just like water, alcohols can form hydrogen bonds, though they are
typically weaker than those in water. As a result, alcohol has a higher evaporation rate than
water but lower than nonpolar substances like oil.
 GUIDE QUESTIONS

3. Can you connect the observed differences in evaporation rates to the strength of
intermolecular forces in each substance?

Yes because out of the three substances Alcohol has the highest evaporation rate due to it
being polar and having hydrogen bonding such as water, though it is weaker than water,
that is why Alcohol’s evaporation rate is higher than the other substances.
Water has the second highest evaporation rate due to it also being polar and also having
hydrogen bonding which is stronger than Alcohol which makes it second in this list.
Oil was the longest to evaporate on this list due to this substance being nonpolar and its
intermolecular forces being stronger, in which it is harder to break oil molecules than the
other substances molecule.
CONCLUSION
Each experiment showed us how the intermolecular forces of water, vegetable oil, and rubbing
alcohol affect the solubility of components, their respective surface tensions, and evaporation
rates. For the first experiment, both salt and sugar were totally dissolved in water thanks to the
liquid being polar, with positive and negative charges; these ionic compounds and polar
molecules can easily dissolve in it (Molnar, 2015) – this also contributes to water being deemed
as a “universal solvent.” For the other liquids, salt, and sugar were partially dissolved by the
rubbing alcohol because it was less polar than water, and the salt and sugar did not dissolve at
all in oil due to it being non-polar and having London dispersion forces which have the weakest
type of intermolecular forces, therefore not being able to dissolve the polar molecules
(Bernstein & Carpi, 2017). For the second experiment, the surface tension of each liquid was
tested by placing a paper clip on each surface. Water has the highest surface tension among
liquids because of the hydrogen bonding in water molecules (Libretexts, 2023), this allows it to
support the paperclip by forming droplets around the item which keeps it afloat. In comparison
to oil, a nonpolar molecule, it has lesser surface tension because it does not possess hydrogen
bonds, which makes the paperclip sink to the bottom of the cup. Lastly, rubbing alcohol also
failed to keep the paperclip afloat due to it having a smaller surface tension compared to other
liquids.
CONCLUSION
For the third and last experiment which is the evaporation rates, the experiment revealed that
of the three liquids, rubbing alcohol evaporates the fastest due to its rapid evaporation rate,
then water evaporates more slowly, when compared to rubbing alcohol, and lastly, vegetable oil
evaporates the slowest among the three liquids. When it comes to molecular adhesion,
isopropyl alcohol molecules exhibit weaker connections than water molecules due to room
temperature differences in hydrogen bond strength. Because of this variation in molecular
cohesiveness, rubbing alcohol evaporates more quickly than water. (The Vigyan, n.d.) While
vegetable oil does evaporate, it does so more slowly than water due to its chemical
composition. Whereas water is a polar molecule that readily forms hydrogen bonds, vegetable
oil is made up of nonpolar molecules. This shows that there are fewer intermolecular
connections holding vegetable oil molecules together than there are in water. As a result, the
evaporation of vegetable oil happens more slowly than that of water. (Battlingblogger, 2023). All
in all, we have learned that chemistry, specifically intermolecular forces, plays a huge role in
helping us recognize how certain phenomena happen and exist, allowing us to further
understand the concepts and principles of chemical science.
THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING!