why does iodine have a higher boiling point than chlorine?

If we look at group 7 of the periodic table, we can see that iodine is below chlorine. The trend in going down a group in the periodic table is that the number of electron shells increases, therefore, number of electrons increases. This means a molecule of iodine (I2) has more electrons than a molecule of chlorine (Cl2) so the van der waal's inter molecular forces are stronger and require more energy to overcome meaning the boiling point of iodine is higher than that of chlorine.

LH
Answered by Lauren H. Chemistry tutor

3249 Views

See similar Chemistry GCSE tutors

Related Chemistry GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Why are Alkali metals so reactive?


A compound is found to contain 37.21% carbon, 7.75% hydrogen and 55.04% chlorine. What is it's empirical formula?


Explain why potassium is more reactive than sodium, giving the balanced chemical symbol equation for the reaction of potassium and water.


Name and describe the type of bond in sodium chloride


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:

© 2025 by IXL Learning