What is the boiling point trend of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines?
Practice Questions
Q1
What is the boiling point trend of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines?
Primary > Secondary > Tertiary
Tertiary > Secondary > Primary
Secondary > Primary > Tertiary
All have the same boiling point
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
What is the boiling point trend of primary, secondary, and tertiary amines?
Step 1: Understand what amines are. Amines are organic compounds that contain nitrogen atoms.
Step 2: Identify the types of amines: primary amines have one carbon group attached to the nitrogen, secondary amines have two, and tertiary amines have three.
Step 3: Recognize that hydrogen bonding occurs when hydrogen is bonded to a highly electronegative atom like nitrogen.
Step 4: Note that primary amines can form two hydrogen bonds (one from the nitrogen and one from the hydrogen), while secondary amines can form only one, and tertiary amines cannot form hydrogen bonds with other amines.
Step 5: Conclude that because primary amines can form more hydrogen bonds, they have higher boiling points than secondary and tertiary amines.
