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if you lived in Alaska which of the following natural gases would you keep in an

ID: 963195 • Letter: I

Question

if you lived in Alaska which of the following natural gases would you keep in an outdoor storage tank in the winter? explain why methane (CH4) propane (C3H8) or butane (C4H10) if you lived in Alaska which of the following natural gases would you keep in an outdoor storage tank in the winter? explain why methane (CH4) propane (C3H8) or butane (C4H10) if you lived in Alaska which of the following natural gases would you keep in an outdoor storage tank in the winter? explain why methane (CH4) propane (C3H8) or butane (C4H10)

Explanation / Answer

I would like to keep methane gas in an outdoor storage tank in the winter

The three molecules are essentially nonpolar. There is little difference in electronegativity between carbon and hydrogen. Thus, the only type of intermolecular attraction in these molecules is dispersion forces. Other factors being equal, the molecule with the greater number of electrons will exert greater intermolecular attractions. By looking at the molecular formulas you can predict that the order of increasing boiling points will be CH4 < C3H8 < C4H10.
On a very cold day, propane and butane would be liquids (boiling points 44.5°C and 0.5°C, respectively); only methane would still be a gas (boiling point 161.6°C). Methane does not freeze at Alaskan temps