Final answer:
Formaldehyde (CH2 = CH2O) exhibits dipole-dipole attractions due to its polar covalent bonds but does not form hydrogen bonds because its hydrogens are attached to carbon, not to a highly electronegative atom.
Step-by-step explanation:
The molecule in question, CH2 = CH2O, represents a compound often referred to as formaldehyde. In formaldehyde, the atoms are arranged with a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom (carbonyl group) and single-bonded to two hydrogen atoms. When determining the types of intermolecular forces present in a substance, we consider the electronegativity of the atoms and the polarity of the bonds. Formaldehyde has polar covalent bonds due to the difference in electronegativity between hydrogen (H), carbon (C), and oxygen (O).
These polar covalent bonds lead to dipole-dipole attractions in formaldehyde as the electrons are unevenly distributed, creating partial positive and negative charges on different parts of the molecule. However, formaldehyde does not have hydrogen bonds because hydrogen bonding requires a hydrogen atom to be directly attached to a highly electronegative atom such as nitrogen (N), oxygen (O), or fluorine (F), creating a strong dipole. Since the hydrogens in formaldehyde are attached to carbon, they cannot participate in hydrogen bonding.