Vapour Pressure

Definition

The pressure exerted by the Vapours of a liquid in its equilibrium state with the pure liquid at a given temperature is called vapour pressure.

Explanation
Consider a liquid is present in a bottle as shown.
In the beginning the atmosphere above the surface of liquid is unsaturated but due to continuous evaporation the molecule of the liquid are trapped in the bottle and the air present above the surface of the liquid is becomes saturated and after it the molecules present in the Vapour state may hit the liquid again and rejoin it by condensing into liquid. Thus in this closed vessel two process are going on simultaneously which are evaporation and condensation of vapours. When the rates of these two processes becomes equal at this point the pressure exerted by vapours is called vapour pressure.

Units of Vapour Pressure

The units for vapour pressure are

1. Millimeter of Hg
2. Atmosphere
3. Torr
4. Newton / m(2)

Factors for Vapour Pressure

Nature of Liquid
Vapour pressure of a liquid depends upon the nature of the liquid. Low boiling liquid exert more vapour pressure at a given temperature.

Temperature
Vapour pressure of a liquid also depends upon temperature. The vapour pressure of the liquid increases with the increase of temperature due to the increase of average of kinetic energy.

Intermolecular Forces
Those liquids in which the intermolecular forces are weak shows high vapour pressure.

Explanation of Evaporation on the Basis of Kinetic Theory
According to this theory the molecules of a liquid collide with each other during their motion. Due to these collisions some of the molecules acquire greater energy than Van der Walls forces which binds the molecules of the liquid together so these molecules of higher energy escapes from the surface into the air in the form of vapours.

Evaporation is a Cooling Process
In liquids, due to collision between molecules some molecules acquire higher energy and escapes from the surface of the liquid in the form of vapours. The kinetic energy of the remaining molecules decreases due to which the temperature of the liquid also decreases and hence we can say that evaporation is a cooling process he pressure exerted by the vapours of a liquid in its equilibrium state with the pure liquid at a given temperature is called vapour pressure.

Boiling Point

Definition
The temperature at which the vapour pressure of a liquid becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure is called boiling point.
When a liquid is heated the rate of evaporation of the molecules also increases with the increase in temperature. When the pressure of the vapours becomes equal to the atmospheric pressure the liquid starts boiling and this temperature is known as boiling point.
If the external pressure on a liquid is changed the boiling point of the liquid also change. The increase in external pressure on a liquid increases the boiling point while the decreases of external pressure decrease the boiling point.

Solid State
It is a state of matter which posses both definite shape and definite volume. In solids the particles are very close to each and tightly packed with a greater force of attraction.

Properties of Solids

• Diffusibility

Diffusion also occurs in solids but its rate is very slow. If a polished piece of zinc is clamped with a piece of copper for a long time. After few years we will see that some particles of zinc are penetrated into copper and some particles of copper are penetrated into zinc. It shows that the diffusion in solids is possible but it occurs with a slow rate.

• Compressibility

In solids the molecules are close to each other so it is not easy to compress a solid. In other words we can say that the effect of pressure on solids is negligible.

• Sublimation

It is a property of some solids that on heating these solids are directly converted into vapours without liquefaction. This property of solids is known as sublimation.

• Melting

When solids are heated, they are changed into liquids and the property is called melting of the solids.

• Deformity

Solids may be deformed by high pressure. When a high pressure is applied on solids due to which some particles are dislocated the force of attraction is so strong that the rearranged atoms are held equally well with their new neighbours and hence the solid is deformed.