Chemistry

Lessons

Intermolecular Forces

Commonly confused terms in Chemistry: intramolecular forces and intermolecular forces. Intramolecular forces hold individual compounds and molecules together. These include Ionic Bonds and Covalent Bonds, and are relatively strong forces.

Intermolecular Forces, on the other hand, are relatively weak. These are the less-permanent, more fleeting interactions between separate compounds and molecules. There are a variety of ways to categorize these weak forces. In this video, we describe:

  • dipole interactions, including ion-dipole forces, ion-induced dipole interactions, dipole-dipole interactions.
  • the special case of the Hydrogen bond
  • dispersion forces, including van der Waals interactions

Details about strong intramolecular forces can be found in their own videos: Ionic Bonds and Covalent Bonds.

Video: Intermolecular Forces

Handout: Video Notes Worksheet

Interactive Quiz

Join Socratica’s Chemistry Club for free updates to this course.

Full-length Practice Tests with Answer Keys

Course Page

Resources

Uncle Tungsten: Memories of a Chemical Boyhood
By Oliver Sacks
Buy
Napoleon's Buttons: How 17 Molecules Changed History
Buy
Chemistry - The Central Science
By Theodore L. Brown, etc.
Buy