Question

At room temperature, Si is a solid, CCl4 is a liquid, and Ar is a gas. List these substances in order of increasing intermolecular energy of attraction

Answer 1

Most energy Si> CCl4 > Ar least energy

Step-by-step explanation:

The strength of a bond is proportional to its bond/attraction energy. This means the molecule with the strongest bonds will have the strongest energy.

We know that Si has the strongest bonds because each atom in the compound is bonded tightly enough that it is solid. Recall that a solid has molecules closer and and more tightly bonded than in a liquid or gas, when the molecules move freer.

With this in mind, we know that Ar has the weakest attraction strength, and thus weakest energy of attraction, because it is a gas and that atoms move freely and interact minimally. There is not enough attraction for the molecules to form bonds nor to effect one another beyond accidental collisions.