Effect of

Intermolecular
Forces on the
Properties of
Substances
 Have you ever wondered why you
can swim easily in the sea compared
to river? Why chocolate melt in your
hands while holding it? why there
are water droplet remains in the leaf
after a rain? Or why sugar
completely dissolves in water?
What are the effects of intermolecular
forces on the properties of substance?

Intermolecular forces are the same as adhesives, it holds the cup together, just
like molecules are being grouped together by intermolecular forces. There are
many types of intermolecular forces, there are strong and weak forces. The
stronger the intermolecular force, the more energy is needed to break the
molecules apart. Therefore, the substance properties rely on the strength and
type of their intermolecular forces.
There are many properties that depends on
intermolecular forces. These are:

1. Stable phase, Boiling point, and Melting point

2. Enthalpies of phase transition
3. Vapor pressure
4. Surface tension
5. Solubility and miscibility of different substance
6. Viscosity
7. Density
Stable phase, Boiling point, and Melting
point

Phases in Room Temperature

When molecules have a strong attraction of

intermolecular force, it forms a pack that is very closed
each other (Figure 1). As a result, it occurs as
condensed phase (Solid) at room temperature (Ice
cube). When the molecules are much less dense and
have lesser attraction force, it forms liquid phase
(liquid) (Water in glass). When molecules have a
weaker attraction of intermolecular force, molecules are
far apart from each other, forming a gas phase (gas) at
room temperature (steam).
Stable phase, Boiling point, and Melting
point

Melting Point

• Melting point is the temperature at which the substance

changes from solid to liquid.
• Stronger attraction of intermolecular forces means
higher amount of energy required to break the
attractive forces between molecules.
• Substance with stronger intermolecular forces of
attraction have higher melting points compared to
weak Intermolecular Forces of Attraction or IMFA.
• Chocolate is an example of having a weak attraction of
intermolecular forces by which it easily melts in a
normal body temperature (Figure 2).
Stable phase, Boiling point, and
Melting point

Boiling Point

• It is the temperature at which the vapor pressure

becomes equal to the pressure exerted on the surface
of the liquid.
• It is also the change of physical phase of a substance
from liquid to gas.
• It is similar to melting point, by which the stronger
the intermolecular forces mean greater amount of
energy is required to break the attractive force.
• A very common example is when you are heating a
water for a cup of coffee, waiting for the time where
bubbles are starting to pop-up and produces steams
from the water (Figure 3).
Enthalpies of Phase
Transition

Intermolecular forces are weak interactions between

particles. The forces decreases as you go from solid to
liquid to gas. Recall that gas particles have the highest
degree of freedom (spaces between molecules) of
movement and negligible or weak intermolecular
forces.
Enthalpies of Phase
Transition

1. Melting: The transition from the solid to the liquid phase

2. Freezing: The transition from the liquid phase to the solid phase.
3. Evaporating: The transition from the liquid phase to the gas phase
4. Condensing: The transition from the gas phase to the liquid phase
5. Sublimation: The transition from the solid phase to the gas phase
6. Deposition: The transition from the gas phase to the solid phase

It should be noticed that the majority of matter in the universe is in a fourth state, the
plasma state. A plasma is a high energy gas with free moving positive ions and electrons
flowing around, for example the stars, which is in the plasma phase.
 Vapor Pressure
It is an amount of pressure (force per unit area) applied by a gas above any liquid in a sealed container. Vapor pressure
is a liquid property based on the strength of the intermolecular force. A liquid with stronger intermolecular force will
not evaporate quickly and has a lower vapor pressure.

However, for liquid with weak intermolecular force evaporates more easily and quicky thus having high vapor
pressure. For instance, diethyl ether is a nonpolar fluid with weak dispersion force were its vapor pressure at 20°C is
58.96 kPa (Figure 5). Water is a polar fluid whose atoms are pulled into each other by moderately strong hydrogen
bonding. The vapor pressure of water at 20°C is only 2.33 kPa, far less than that of diethyl ether.
 Surface Tension

It is the tendency of a liquid to attain the smallest possible surface

area. Molecules with stronger intermolecular forces will apply
stronger cohesive forces and acquire less surface area (Higher
surface tension) compared to weak IMFA. It is also the resistance
of a liquid to spread out and increase its surface area.

For example, beading of a rain water from a leaf surface. Water

sticks weakly to wax and strongly to itself, so water clusters into
drops. Surface tension gives its near-spherical shape, which has
the smallest possible surface area to volume ratio.
Solubility
It refers to the ability of a material to dissolve in a
specified amount of solvent at a particular
temperature. “Like dissolves like”. When the
solute and solvent have the same intermolecular
forces of attraction, they form solution.

In Figure 7, oil and water did not mix up resulting

to heterogenous mixture, same as the water and
sand mixture. Unlike in the middle setup, the
solute is slowly dissolving over time; thus,
resulting to homogeneous mixture.
Viscosity
• It is the measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow.
Molecules with stronger intermolecular forces have
higher resistance to flow.
• The viscosity of a liquid is determined by
intermolecular forces preset in the liquid, shape, size
and temperature.
• As the temperature increases, the molecules move
more quickly and overcome the forces that hold them
together; resulting to decrease of viscosity.
• Figure 8 shows a comparison between vegetable oil
and honey. Oil flows more quickly than to honey.
• In addition, the more structurally complex the
molecules in a liquid, the stronger the intermolecular
forces present.
Density

It is a measure of the mass in a unit volume

(density = m/V) . The solid phase is often the
densest phase. Thus, this can be explained by
the strong intermolecular forces found in a
solid. These forces pull the molecules together
which results in more molecules in one-unit
volume than in the liquid or gas phases. The
more molecules in a unit volume the denser that
substance will be.
THANKS
