Question
Account for the following:
The boiling points of noble gases increase with the increase in atomic number.
Solution
The melting and boiling points of noble gases are very low in comparison to those of other substances of comparable atomic and molecular masses. This indicates that only weak van der Waals forces or weak London dispersion forces are present between the atoms of the noble gases in the liquid or the solid state.
The van der Waals force increases with the increase in the size of the atom, and therefore, in general, the boiling point increase from He to Rn.
