Answer to Question #73200 in General Chemistry for jess

Question

Look up the boiling points of the six compounds using the Internet or print resources, such as The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Compare the actual boiling points to your rankings in question 2.
1. Ethane C2H6 – 88.5 oC
2. Methoxymethane C2H6O (CH3OCH3) -24 OC
3. Ethanol C2H6O (CH3CH2OH) 78.3 OC
4. Ethanoic acid C2H4O2 (CH3COOH) 118 oC
Are there any differences? Why do you think the boiling points of octane and 1-octanol are so high?

Answer 1

According to The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics:

Tboil(Ethane) = - 88.5 °C

Tboil(Methoxymethane) = - 24 °C

Tboil(Ethanol) = 78.24 ± 0.09 °C

Tboil(Ethanoic acid) = 118 to 119 °C

There are no significant differences between the data, except for some fluctuations in the boiling point of ethanol and ethanoic acid.

Tboil(Octane) = 125,52 °C. Octane has a high boiling point, because its molecule contains 8 Carbon atoms, and with increasing molecular weight of hydrocarbon its boiling temperature increases.

Tboil(1-octanol) = 195 °C. 1-octanol has a high boiling point due to the formation of hydrogen bonds between alcohol molecules.