A mixture of four gases,methane,ethane,propane & butane is cooled until the first drop of liquid is formed so what is this compound.

Question

aaronq · Answer

it would be the one with the highest boiling point. You can figure this out by thinking about their respective van der waals intermolecular forces, higher forces = higher bp.

jfraser · Answer

@aaronq if the mixture is cooled, the molecule with the lowest BP will liquefy first, not the highest.

anonymous · Answer

@thomaster What do you think about the answer.

thomaster · Answer

I agree with aaronq...
The molecule with the highest BP will vaporize last when heated but liquifies first when cooled. Molecules with the lowest BP will vaporize first but liquify last when cooled.

anonymous · Answer

so it is butane @thomaster

thomaster · Answer

Boiling Points:

methane:  109-113 K
ethane:     185         K
propane:   231-231 K
butane:     272-274 K

So I guess you're right