What is the effect of increasing the number of carbon atoms in alcohols on their
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the effect of increasing the number of carbon atoms in alcohols on their boiling points?
Decreases
Increases
Remains the same
Varies randomly
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the effect of increasing the number of carbon atoms in alcohols on their boiling points?
Step 1: Understand what alcohols are. Alcohols are organic compounds that contain a hydroxyl group (-OH) attached to a carbon atom.
Step 2: Know that alcohols have a carbon chain. The number of carbon atoms in an alcohol refers to the length of this carbon chain.
Step 3: Learn about boiling points. The boiling point is the temperature at which a liquid turns into a gas.
Step 4: Recognize that molecules attract each other. Molecules in a liquid attract each other through forces called van der Waals forces.
Step 5: Realize that more carbon atoms mean more surface area. As you add more carbon atoms to an alcohol, the molecule becomes larger.
Step 6: Understand that larger molecules have stronger attractions. More carbon atoms increase the van der Waals forces between the alcohol molecules.
Step 7: Conclude that stronger attractions require more energy to break. Therefore, as the number of carbon atoms increases, the boiling point of the alcohol also increases.
