Lesson Plan

Lesson: Intermolecular Forces

Aim :

To study van der Waals forces.

Learning Outcomes :

At the end of the lesson, students will be able to :

1. list the two main types of van der Waals forces.

2. describe the formation of dipole-dipole and temporary dipole-induced dipole forces of
attraction.
3. relate the strength of the van der Waals forces to the molar mass and shapes of the
molecules.
4. relate the boiling point to the strength of the van der Waals forces.

Assumed prior knowledge :

Students should already be familiar with the concept of polar bonds.

Underlying Principles

1. Making the invisible, visible.

2. Enabling students to know what to look for.

Time taken to complete the activities : 80 minutes

Differentiation

Questions in the student notes are designed to enable all students to complete the activity.
The pop-up answers are provided for the students to view when they have considered their
responses. Worksheet questions include questions that require recall, understanding and
application of the new concepts learned.

© 2003 Ministry Of Education Malaysia. All Rights Reserved. Page 1 of 4

Development of Lesson :

No. Steps Strategy Resources

1 Set Induction. • Teacher quizzes students to ensure that • Courseware

(Ascertaining prior they have the assumed prior knowledge.
knowledge and
introducing lesson • Teacher to introduce the lesson
topic for the day). objectives for the day.

2 Student Activity Teacher to go through Activities 1 - 2 • Courseware

with the students.

• Activity 1 : van der Waals forces.

Students get to view the formation of
dipole-dipole forces of attraction between
HCl molecules and temporary dipole-
induced dipole forces of attraction
between non-polar molecules.

• Activity 2 : Strength of van der Waals

forces.
Students get to see how the strength of
van der Waals forces is affected by the
molar mass and the shapes of the
molecules.

3 Evaluation • Students to answer questions in the • Worksheet

student worksheet on their own.

4 Extension activity • Students to go through the extension • Websites

activities on their own. • Reference
books.

© 2003 Ministry Of Education Malaysia. All Rights Reserved. Page 2 of 4

Worksheet answers

1. van der Waals forces

1.1 van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonding.

1.2 a. i. polar molecules.

ii. non-polar molecules.

b. Due to the uneven distribution of its electron cloud, a non-polar molecule can
gain a temporary dipole. When this temporary dipole is brought near to a
non-polar molecule, an induced dipole is formed. The oppositely charged
ends of these two molecules attract each other and a temporary dipole-
induced dipole force of attraction is formed.

1.3 a. MgF2 is made up of oppositely charged ions, Mg2+ and F-, held by
electrostatic forces of attraction called ionic bonds. These ionic bonds are
strong and require a large amount of energy to break. The melting point of
magnesium fluoride is above room temperature.

SF2 is a simple covalent molecule. SF2 molecules are held by weak van der
Waals forces which require little energy to break. Hence, sulphur difluoride
has a low boiling point which is below room temperature.
xx xx o o xx
b.
Mg
2+ o x
2 x Fx - x x x x
x Fo S o Fx
xx xx o o xx

2. Strength of van der Waals forces

2.1 a. van der Waals forces (temporary dipole-induced dipole).

b. The molecules in the hydrides of Group 14 are held by van der Waals
forces. The relative molecular masses of the hydrides increase in the order :
CH4 < SiH4 < GeH4 < SnH4. The higher the relative molecular mass, the
stronger the van der Waals forces.The amount of energy needed to break
the intermolecular forces thus increases in the order :
CH4 < SiH4 < GeH4 < SnH4.

© 2003 Ministry Of Education Malaysia. All Rights Reserved. Page 3 of 4

2.2 a. i. C

ii. B

b. The molecules of the three isomers are held by van der Waals forces.
As the three isomers have the same relative molecular mass, the strength
of the van der Waals forces depends entirely on the shapes of their
molecules.

C is a straight chain molecule whereas A and B are branched molecules.

Straight chain molecules have a larger surface area of contact and thus form
stronger van der Waals forces. Branched molecules have a smaller surface
area of contact and hence, forms weaker van der Waals forces.

B has a higher degree of branching in its structure leading to a more compact

and symmetrical molecular shape than A. The surface area of contact
between the molecules and hence, the strength of the van der Waals forces is
smaller in B.

2.3 a. Simple covalent molecule.

b. van der Waals forces.

c. It cannot conduct electricity and is insoluble in water.

d. Higher melting point. A CCl3F molecule is larger than a CCl2F2 molecule. This
is because a Cl atom is bigger than a F atom and there are more chlorine
atoms and fewer F atoms in CCl3F than in CCl2F2. The strength of van der
Waals forces increases with increasing relative molecular mass, hence CCl3F
has stronger van der Waals forces than CCl2F2.

© 2003 Ministry Of Education Malaysia. All Rights Reserved. Page 4 of 4