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3.1 Intermolecular and Interparticle Forces

Part of Properties of Substances and Mixtures in AP® Chemistry. Read the opening section, then create a free account for the full interactive lesson, practice, and progress tracking.

Intermolecular Forces

Intermolecular forces, often called IMFs, are attractive forces that act between molecules, ions, or atoms. These forces affect many physical properties, including vapor pressure, boiling point, melting point, viscosity, and surface tension. Because these are electrostatic attractions, they can be understood using Coulomb’s Law, which becomes especially useful when explaining why these physical properties change from one substance to another.

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