as more carbons are added to the hydrocarbon chain, the melting and boiling points increase
hydrocarbons with a 1-4 carbon chain are gases at room temperature since all the boiling points are negative
hydrocarbons with 5-16 carbons in the chain are liquid at room temperature
hydrocarbons are nonpolar, which means they cannot dissolve in water
the longer the chain is, the more dense it is since there are more London Dispersion forces between elements and more surface area
ion-ion force: the attraction between formally charged ions, the strongest intermolecular force
ion-dipole force: when ions interact a dipole of a polar molecule
dipole-dipole force: when two polar molecules are attracted to each other based on their charges (e.g. H+ from an HCl molecule is attracted to a Cl- molecule from another HCl molecule)
hydrogen bonds: when hydrogen is attracted to a highly electronegative atom (N, O, F) and the electronegative atom is bonded to a hydrogen
London dispersion forces: nonpolar molecules are temporarily charged and the temporary dipoles are attracted to each other temporarily
momentary dipole: when a molecule is temporarily charged, one side is partially positive and one side is partially negative
if the intermolecular forces are stronger, atoms are more tightly packed so more energy is needed to change its state
nonpolar molecules can change state even with very slight energy input, since London Dispersion forces are weak
hydrocarbons with 17 or more carbons in its chain are solids at room temperature