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Butane, CH3CH2CH2CH3, has the structure shown below. What is the strongest type of intermolecular force that exists between two butane molecules?Multiple ChoiceLondon dispersion forceshydrogen bondingelectrostatic attractionsdipole-dipole interactions

Question

Butane, CH3CH2CH2CH3, has the structure shown below. What is the strongest type of intermolecular force that exists between two butane molecules?Multiple ChoiceLondon dispersion forceshydrogen bondingelectrostatic attractionsdipole-dipole interactions

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Solution

The strongest type of intermolecular force that exists between two butane molecules is London dispersion forces.

Here's why:

  1. Butane is a non-polar molecule. This is because the electronegativity difference between carbon and hydrogen is not sufficient to create a polar bond.

  2. Hydrogen bonding only occurs when hydrogen is bonded to a highly electronegative atom such as nitrogen, oxygen, or fluorine. Butane does not have any of these atoms.

  3. Electrostatic attractions occur between ions, not molecules. Butane is a molecule, not an ion.

  4. Dipole-dipole interactions occur between polar molecules. Butane, as mentioned before, is non-polar.

  5. Therefore, the only type of intermolecular force that can exist between two butane molecules is London dispersion forces. These forces are temporary shifts in electron density that create temporary positive and negative charges. These temporary charges induce similar shifts in nearby molecules, leading to attraction.

This problem has been solved

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