Question

Which of the following statements best explains the observation that hydrogen fluoride has the highest boiling point of all the hydrogen halides?a. The fluorine in HF is the smallest atom for all of the halogens. b. Fluorine is the most electronegative of the atoms. c. HF can participate in hydrogen bonding. d. HF is very reactive and can react and dissolve glass e. HF is a weak acid, and doesn

Answer 1

Answer:

c. HF can participate in hydrogen bonding.

Explanation:

The boiling points of substances  often reflect the strength of the intermolecular forces operating among the molecules.

If it takes more energy to  separate molecules of HF than of the rest of the hydrogen halides because HF molecules are held  together by stronger intermolecular forces, then the boiling point of HF will be higher than  that of all the hydrogen halides.

A particularly strong  type of intermolecular attraction is called the hydrogen bond, which is a special type of dipole-dipole interaction between the hydrogen atom in a polar bond, such as N-H, O-H, or F-H, and an electronegative O, N, or F atom.