LDF Forces and Boiling Points

[Christina Diep 3A]

Can someone explain how increasing strength of dispersion forces can explain why methane boils at -161 degrees Celsius while tetrachloromethane boils at 77 degrees Celsius?

[Luke_Dreyer 2F]

Chlorine is a larger atom than hydrogen. London dispersion forces increase with atomic size so since tetrachloromethane is a much larger molecule, it has much stronger london dispersion forces resulting in a much higher boiling point.

[Cheyenne Roberts 2A]

tetrachloromethane has stronger forces holding its molecules together, so it requires more heat (higher temperature) to break these forces and turn into a gas compared to methane, which has weaker forces and boils at a lower temperature.

[Evonne Xu 3I]

Both molecules have similar shapes, but the Cl in tetrachloromethane is a much larger atom than the H in methane. Larger molecules have stronger london dispersion forces because there are more opportunities for temporary dipoles to be set up. So since tetrachloromethane has stronger dispersion forces, that will raise its boiling temperature as it will take more energy.

[105561735]

As atomic size increases, so do the dispersion forces hence describing the difference in melting and boiling points