In this episode, we discuss small covalent molecules and their chemical properties.
Small covalent molecules possess strong internal covalent bonds but weak intermolecular forces between them, leading to low melting and boiling points and often a gaseous or liquid state at room temperature.
Conversely, larger covalent molecules exhibit stronger intermolecular forces due to their size, resulting in higher melting and boiling points and a tendency to be solid at room temperature, exemplified by sucrose.
Regardless of size, these molecules typically cannot conduct electricity as they lack delocalised electrons.
Thus, the magnitude of intermolecular forces, influenced by molecular size, significantly dictates the observable physical properties of covalent compounds.
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