CHEMISTRY COMMUNITY

Dr. Lavelle uses the terms dipole-dipole, LDF, and van der waals forces interchangeably. In high school I was taught the difference between these forces and was responsible for naming the most prominent kind of intermolecular force in a certain molecule. In this class, do we just consider them interchangeable and are we not responsible for knowing the differences between them?

The terms induced dipole - induced dipole, London, Dispersion, and Van der Waals forces all describe the same force in this class.

They all describe the same types of intermolecular forces.