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what effect the branching of an alkane has on its melting point

what effect the branching of an alkane has on its melting point

Grade:11

1 Answers

Aman Bansal
592 Points
13 years ago

dear student,

Alkanes experience inter-molecular Van der Waals forces. The stronger the force, the greater will be the boiling point of the alkane.

As branching increases, the surface area of the molecule decreases which results in a small area of contact. As a result, the Van der Waals force also decreases which can be overcome at a relatively lower temperature. Hence, the boiling point of an alkane chain decreases with an increase in branching.


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