this is confusing...it says explain why melting point of sulfur is higher than Phosphorous
answer S is bigger than P so more VDW FORCES between molecules
how is S bigger than P as the atomic radius of S is smaller than P?
and i read that the more electron the greater the vdw forces. so argon has the highest electrons so shoukldent it have the highest boiling points in period 3.....
this is confusing...it says explain why melting point of sulfur is higher than Phosphorous
answer S is bigger than P so more VDW FORCES between molecules
how is S bigger than P as the atomic radius of S is smaller than P?
and i read that the more electron the greater the vdw forces. so argon has the highest electrons so shoukldent it have the highest boiling points in period 3.....
help
Sulfur exists as a number of allotropes, the most common one is S8.
Likewise phosphorus, P4.
It isn't size of atoms that matters it is the number of electrons and the space over which they can wander.
S8 both has more e- than P4 and the molecule is larger (and hence has a larger surface area of contact between molecules).