Question

Explain, in terms of particles, what happens when methane boils and why

Answer 1

Answer:Butane > ethane > methane, because between bigger molecules there are stronger van der Waals forces and also higher molar mass means they need to be given more energy to have enough kinetic energy to move quickly, freely in gas.

There are multiple butene isomers (Butene) and some (2-Butenes - cis and trans) actually have higher boiling point than n-Butane (there is also Isobutane, of course, with quite much lower boiling point than all of them) and some (1-Butene, Isobutylene) have lower, so this isn't really a fair or simple question. But on simplest level, it can again be said that 1-butene has lower boiling point because it has very similar shape but slightly lower molar mass (2H less) than n-butane.

Explanation: