Question

What do we mean when we say that a liquid is volatile? Do volatile liquids have large or small vapor pressures at room temperature? What strengths of intermolecular forces occur in highly volatile liquids?

Short answer

A volatile liquid is a compound that can evaporate very easily at room temperature. Volatile liquids have large vapor pressures at room temperature because the intermolecular forces that prevent evaporation are relatively weak in highly volatile liquids.

Step-by-step solution

Volatile liquids

Volatile liquids are those liquids that can easily change to their vapor state at a particular temperature. The liquids which have higher vapor pressure are known as volatile compounds. For example, alcohol, acetone, perfumes, etc., are known for their volatile nature at room temperature.

Intermolecular force

Intermolecular forces are well-known forces that work between the molecules as they hold atoms of the molecule together within a molecule.Intermolecular forces are forces that exist between molecules of any compound, for example, in water molecules.

Types of intermolecular forces

There are mainly four types of intermolecular forces present.

1. London depression force

2. Dipole-Dipole force

3. Hydrogen bonding

4. Ion-Dipole force