Question

"The forces responsible for the relatively high melting point and boiling point of water, H₂O, are:

A. Intermolecular ver der Waals or Dispersion forces
B. Intramolecular covalent bonding
C. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding
D. Intermolecular ionic bonding
E. Intramolecular dipole-dipole forces"

Answer 1

Water, H2O, has a high melting and boiling point due to intermolecular hydrogen bonding.

Step-by-step explanation:

Water, H2O, has a high melting point and boiling point due to intermolecular hydrogen bonding. Hydrogen bonding is a strong dipole-dipole interaction that occurs between molecules with hydrogen bonded to highly electronegative atoms like oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine. In water, the partially positively charged hydrogen atom in one molecule is attracted to the partially negatively charged oxygen atom in another molecule. This hydrogen bonding requires additional energy to break, resulting in higher melting and boiling points for water compared to similar molecules that do not experience hydrogen bonding.