PHYSICAL SCIENCE

GRADE 11-CSS

ELECTRONEGATIVITY- Measure of the relative tendency of an atom to attract electrons to itself when
chemically combined with another atom. The higher the value of electronegativity, the more it tends to attract
electrons toward itself.
Polar covalent bonds
Polar covalent bonds occur when electron pairs are unequally shared. The difference in
electronegativity between atoms is significant. Examples of compounds having polar covalent bonds
are:
HCl EN of H = 2.1 EN of Cl = 3.0 EN = 0.9
HF EN of H = 2.1 EN of F = 4.0 EN = 1.9
The separation of charges makes the bond polar. It creates an electric dipole.
Dipole refers to two poles, meaning there is a positive and a negative pole within a molecule.
Elements with the higher EN value become the partial negative pole while elements with the
lower EN value become the partial positive pole.
Non-polar covalent bonds
Non-polar covalent bonds occur when electron pairs are shared equally or the difference in
electronegativity between atoms is less than 0.5.
H2 EN of H = 2.1 EN = 0.0 NON-POLAR MOLECULE; not a dipole
Cl2 EN of Cl = 3.0 EN = 0.0 NON-POLAR MOLECULE; not a dipole

MOLECULAR GEOMETRY
The valence shell electron pair repulsion theory or VSEPR theory helps predict the spatial arrangement of
atoms in a polyatomic molecule. The shapes are designed to minimize the repulsion within a molecule.

DIFFERENT SHAPES UNDER THE VSEPR THEORY:

Number of Elecron FULL DESCRIPTION OF THE MOLECULE

pairs around
central atom
BONDING LONE EXAMPLE BOND GEOMETRY GEOMETRY 3D SHAPES
(B) ANGLES OF OF ATOMS
ELECTRON
PAIRS
2 0 BeCl2 180 Linear Linear

2 1 SO2 Slightly less Trigonal Bent

than 120 Planar

2 2 H20 104.5 Tetrahedral Bent

3 0 BF3 120 Trigonal Trigonal

Planar Planar

4 0 CH4 109.5 Tetrahedral Tetrahedral

5 0 PCl5 120 in plane, Trigonal Trigonal

90 bipyramidal bipyramidal
perpendicular
to plane
 5 1 SF6 90 Octahedral Octahedral

Guidelines to determine the VSEPR shape of a molecule:

1. Determine the central atom of a molecule. The central atom is the least electronegative element.
2. Count how many valence electrons the central atom has.
3. Count how many valence electrons the side atoms have.
4. Create the appropriate Lewis structure of the molecule.
5. Using the Lewis structure as a guide, determine the appropriate VSEPR shape for the molecule.
6. Note how many electrons are shared and unshared. This will help determine the appropriate VSEPR shape.

PRACTICE:

1. Polar molecule:
H2O Bent - polar due to two lone pairs
NH3 Trigonal pyramidal - polar due to one lone pair
NO Linear - polar due to unequal sharing of electrons

Note that dots refer to unshared

electrons in the Lewis structure above and a
dash refers to bonding between two electrons.

Point out the effects of lone pairs in the

shape and polarity of a molecule.

2. Non-polar molecule
CO2- Linear
CH4- Tetrahedral
CCl4- Tetrahedral

The presence of polar bonds does not automatically make a molecule polar. The geometry of the molecule also
plays an important role. This can be seen in CO2 wherein the electronegativity difference of C and O is 1.0
which makes the bond between them polar. However carbon is placed in the middle of two oxygen atoms
making the molecular structure linear. This equal distribution of polar bonds make the molecule non-polar.
Solubility, Miscibility, and Polarity
General rule: like dissolves like or like mixes with like. This refers to substances being able to mix due to
their same polarity. In the experiment, water and vinegar mixed because they are both polar substances while
gasoline and oil are non-polar substances. Oil and water, oil and vinegar, gasoline and water, and vinegar and
gasoline do not mix because their polarities are different.

INTERMOLECULAR FORCES
Intramolecular forces are many times stronger than intermolecular forces of attraction. Intramolecular forces
are forces that hold molecules together. They are forces within a molecule. Intermolecular forces are forces
that form between molecules, atoms, or ions.

H2O(g) 2H2(g) + O2(g) absorbs 927 kJ/ mol (H-O bond breaking)
H2O(l) H2O(g) absorbs 40.7 kJ/ mol

The comparison above shows the relative strengths of intermolecular forces and intramolecular forces in
terms of energy involved. Intermolecular forces are responsible for the condensed phases of substances (liquid
and solid form). Solids and liquids will not exist without them.

Introduce the four main types of intermolecular forces:

1. Ion-ion interaction
2. Dipole-dipole interaction
3. Hydrogen bonding
4. Dispersion forces also known as London forces in honor of Fritz London.

1. Ion-ion interaction
Ion-ion interaction exists between oppositely charged ions. It occurs between ionic compounds.
Most ion-ion interaction is strong and compounds which have them have high melting and boiling points.
Ions of like charges repel while opposite charges attract. The compound orients itself in such a way as
to minimize repulsion. The strength of ion-ion interaction is inversely proportional to the square of distance
between the ions. This is the strongest intermolecular force.

2. Dipole-dipole interaction
Occurs between polar molecules. This is due to the partial
positive pole and the partial negative pole of the molecule. Average
dipole-dipole interaction is relatively weak, around 4kJ/ mol. This
interaction is effective over a very short range. The strength of
dipole-dipole interaction is inversely proportional to distance raised
to the fourth power (d4).
3. Hydrogen Bond
Hydrogen bond is a very strong dipole-dipole interaction.
Hydrogen bond occurs in polar molecules containing H and any one of
the highly electronegative elements, in particular F, O, N. Hydrogen
tends to be strongly positive due to the strong tendencies of F, O, or N to
attract the electron towards it. The highly electronegative elements
make hydrogen strongly positive. Hydrogen bonding is responsible for
the unusually high boiling point and melting point of water as compared
to compounds of similar molecular weight and geometry. Typically, H-
bond is in the range of 15-20 kJ/mol.

Image shows the table comparing the boiling points

of hydrogen with compounds. Notice that the trend from row
3 to 5 is increasing but there is an unusually high value for
elements in row 2 containing F, O, and N. If the trend were
uniform throughout, the values for row 2 would be lower than
the values in row 3 (as is evident in CH4). Instead, there is a
deviation due to H-bonding.

Uniqueness of H bonds
The ability of water to form hydrogen bonds relates to its ability to be a universal solvent. Due to its
polarity, it is able to dissolve (or interact) with ionic compounds and polar molecules. Hydrogen bonding is also
very important to life in general as the H-bond prevents water from quickly evaporating into the atmosphere.
In freezing temperature, the H-bond causes the water molecules to form a crystal lattice thereby increasing its
volume. This is why ice floats on water. This prevents the water beneath from cooling down further as the ice
sheet acts a protective layer. This allows marine creatures to survive in cold weather. H-bonding in water is
also important in the hydration of organic molecules and in the formation of peptide bonds within proteins.

4. Dispersion Forces or London Forces

Dispersion force is present in all molecules. It is the only force present in
nonpolar molecules. It is very weak and acts in very small distances. It is
formed due to the attraction between the positively charged nucleus of an
atom with the negatively charged electron cloud of a nearby atom. This
interaction creates an induced dipole. The strength of dispersion forces is
inversely proportional to distance raised to the 7th power (d7). Without
dispersion forces substances would not be able to condense to liquid and
solid phase.

The image above shows a lone iodine molecule having equal electron density. When several iodine molecules
are exposed to each other, an induce dipole is created. This is shown in the uneven electron density of the
iodine molecules. As the molecular weight of molecules increases (which also corresponds to an increased
number of electrons), the polarization increases due to dispersion forces. Sometimes, dispersion forces can be
stronger than dipole-dipole interaction or even H-bonding.

The diagram shows that the increase in boiling point in correlation with
the increased molecular weight of the different compounds is
attributed to increased dispersion forces.
Properties of Substances in Relation to Intermolecular Forces

1. Surface tension
A phenomenon caused by cohesive forces (intermolecular forces)
between molecules allowing liquids to create a thin film on its surface.
This causes liquids to acquire a certain shape when put on a container or
dropped on surfaces.
In a container, the bulk of a liquid has a balance of intermolecular
forces in all direction. There is a net inward force on the surface since there
are no liquids there. This creates surface tension. Stronger intermolecular
bonds equates to stronger surface tension.

2. Formation of meniscus
Concave meniscus
Occurs when there is stronger adhesive force between the container and the
liquid than the liquids molecules. The adhesive force overcomes the cohesive
force of the liquid. This causes the liquid to climb up the sides of the
container.
Convex meniscus
Occurs when there is stronger cohesive force between the liquids molecules than the adhesive force between
the liquid and the container. This causes the liquid to create a dome shape on its surface.

3. Viscosity
Viscosity is the resistance of a liquid to flow. The more viscous a liquid is the thicker its consistency. In laymans
term it is the measure of the thickness of a liquid. In general, stronger intermolecular forces leads to higher
viscosity. Increased H-bonding, like in glycerine, results to higher viscosity. Higher surface area or increasing
molecular size also results to greater viscosity due to greater dispersion forces.

4. Capillary action
A phenomenon wherein a liquid is able to rise up on a narrow tube. Adhesive forces between the tube and
the liquid allow the liquid to exceed its weight. The narrower the tube, the higher the liquid will reach.

5. Evaporation / vaporization
Evaporation is the process of turning liquid into gaseous form. Weaker intermolecular forces equates to
greater volatility.