Why is water a liquid at room temperature but oxygen is a gas at room temperature?

Answer 1

The forces of attraction between water molecules are much stronger than those between oxygen molecules. Both are attracted by van der Waals' forces, but water also has hydrogen bonding, which is much stronger.

Answer 2

The boiling point of water is 100* Celsius which is far more than room temperature which is nearly 30* Celsius while carbon di oxide has a boiling point of -57* Celsius which is very less than that of room temperature.due to this fact water a liquid at room temperature whereas carbon dioxide is a gas at room temperature...!!

Answer 3

Heavier molecules tend to have higher boiling points than lighter molecules.

Polar molecules tend to have higher boiling points than non-polar molecules.

Both of these lead one to expect that water would have a higher boiling point than hydrogen, which in fact it does. I'm not sure where the confusion is coming from.

Answer 4

Hdrogen bonding. The sulfur analog of water, H2O, is hydrogen sulfide, H2S. The selenium analog is hydrogen selenide, H2Se. Both of these are gases at room temperture and pressure. In these the there is no hydrogen bonding as the electronegativities of the S and Se atoms are too low.

Answer 5

Water is what is known as a polar molecule. The oxygen atom in a water molecule has a slight negative charge while the hydrogen atoms each have a slight negative charge. Even though the molecules overall are not charged, the oppositely charged ends of different molecules strongly attract each other much like the poles of a magnet. This attraction greatly raises water's boiling point. Elemental oxygen, by contrast, is nonpolar and so its molecules only weakly attract one another, allowing its molecules to move more freely.

Answer 6

Water is what we call a polar molecule. While it has no net electrical charge, there is a slight positive charge on each hydrogen atom and a slight negative charge on the oxygen atom. The oppositely charged ends of different molecules attract one another somewhat like the poles of magnets. As a result water molecules tend to stick to one another. By contrast elemental oxygen, O2, is nonpolar so the molecules are only weakly attracted to one another.

Answer 7

Different things have different boiling temperatures, I am not entirely sure if salt is one element or a mixture so salt may melt into a liquid at a temperature above room temperature.

Answer 8

The strength of the polar bonds between the atoms in water are stronger than the attraction between oxygen atoms causing water to be able to remain a liquid at room temp, and oxygen a gas.

Answer 9

Water(H2O) is not an element.

Because of their melting and boiling point.