Explain what happens to the boiling and solubility of alcohols as their chain length increases

Boiling point: As alkyl chain length increases, boiling point increases as there are surface area contacts and so stronger induced dipole-dipole intermolecular forces – more energy needed to overcome leading to a higher boiling pointSolubility: As alkyl chain length increases, the solubility of the alcohol decreases since the aliphatic chain can’t form H-bonds and that becomes the larger part of the molecule

AA
Answered by Azreen A. Chemistry tutor

4711 Views

See similar Chemistry A Level tutors

Related Chemistry A Level answers

All answers ▸

How can you convert benzene to N-phenylethanamide in 3 steps?


Explain why the reactivity of Group 2 elements increases down the group.


Plan out a 4 step organic synthesis to form N-methyl Butanamide from 1-Bromopropane. Include relevant reagents and conditions for each reaction. Include 1 mechanism for one of the stages.


Use the concept of electronegativity to justify why the acid strengths of ethanedioic acid and ethanoic acid are different.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2026 by IXL Learning