Question

Do organic compounds have a high or low melting point? Why?

Answer 1

They typically have lower melting points than metallic substances or ionic compounds.

Explanation:

For an organic compound (example = sugar) to melt you need to break intermolecular bonds. These are bonds between different molecules. In organic molecules the types of intermolecular forces are typically weak attractive forces like hydrogen bonds.

To melt a metal you need to break metallic bonds which are much stronger than hydrogen bonds, so you need higher temperatures.

You also need higher temperatures to melt ionic substances because with these compounds you need to break very strong ionic bonds (need very high temps to do this!)

Here is a video to review other properties of organic compounds.

video from: Noel Pauller

video from: Noel Pauller

Hope this helps!