Final answer:
Butanoic acid will have the highest boiling point due to its ability to form an extensive network of hydrogen bonds through its carboxylic acid group.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks which of the following compounds would have the highest boiling point: butane, 1-butanol, butanoic acid, or butanone. The boiling point of a compound is largely determined by the strength of its intermolecular forces.
Among the given compounds, butanoic acid (CH₃CH₂CH₂CO₂H) will have the highest boiling point because it can form hydrogen bonds due to the presence of the carboxylic acid group, which is both a hydrogen bond donor and acceptor. This allows for the formation of a strong, extensive network of hydrogen bonds. 1-Butanol (CH₃CH₂CH₂CH₂OH) also has the ability to form hydrogen bonds due to its alcohol group; however, these are slightly less extensive than those of butanoic acid. Butane (CH₃CH₂CH₂CH₃) and butanone (CH₃COCH₂CH₃) have lower boiling points because they can only engage in weaker van der Waals forces, specifically London dispersion forces, which are less effective at raising the boiling point than hydrogen bonding.