Water has a higher boiling point than expected because A. there is so much water vapor in the atmosphere. B. water molecules are not very massive. C. hydrogen and oxygen form single covalent bonds. D. of the strong attractions between polar water molecules

Question

Water has a higher boiling point than expected because   A. there is so much water vapor in the atmosphere.      B. water molecules are not very massive.      C. hydrogen and oxygen form single covalent bonds.      D. of the strong attractions between polar water molecules

anonymous · Answer

Water has a high boiling point due to hydrogen bonds.
Since water molecules are polar, the slightly negative oxygen end of a water molecule will attract the slightly positive hydrogen end of another water molecule (and vice versa), thus creating hydrogen bonds.

This intermolecular force make it so that it takes more energy to break the hydrogen bonds between the water molecules, which is why water has a high boiling point.

Answer: D. the strong attractions between water molecules