Which of the following pairs of molecules form hydrogen bonds?
Answer Details
The pair of molecules that form hydrogen bonds are C\(_{2}\)H\(_{5}\)OH and CH\(_{3}\)OH.
A hydrogen bond is a type of chemical bond that forms between a partially positively charged hydrogen atom and a partially negatively charged atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen. In the case of C\(_{2}\)H\(_{5}\)OH and CH\(_{3}\)OH, both molecules contain oxygen atoms, which have a partial negative charge. Additionally, the hydrogen atoms in these molecules are partially positively charged. This creates an opportunity for hydrogen bonding to occur between the oxygen atom in one molecule and the hydrogen atom in another molecule.
In contrast, the other pairs of molecules listed do not contain the necessary atoms with partial charges for hydrogen bonding to occur. CH\(_{3}\)OH and H\(_{2}\) do not have any partially charged atoms, while H\(_{2}\)S and CH\(_{4}\) do not contain atoms with the necessary partial charges to form hydrogen bonds. NH\(_{3}\) and SO\(_{2}\) have partially charged atoms, but these atoms do not interact with each other in a way that allows for hydrogen bonding to occur. Therefore, only C\(_{2}\)H\(_{5}\)OH and CH\(_{3}\)OH can form hydrogen bonds.