Question

If a beaker of acetone and a beaker of water of equal volumes are left at the front of the room, which will evaporate first and why? Be sure to refer to intermolecular forces in your answer.

Answer 1

Acetone will evaporate faster than water

Step-by-step explanation:

The rate of evaporation of a substance has a lot to do with the intermolecular forces present in the liquid.

Intermolecular forces in acetone are the weak dispersion forces in acetone while hydrogen bonds are the dominant forces in water. Hydrogen bonds lead to strong intermolecular association and prevent quick evaporation of the water. The weak dispersion forces in acetone leads to its easy evaporation.