Ethers have lower boiling points that their correseponding isomeric alcohols because of

Options

A. hydrogen bonding in alcohols that is absent in ethers due to lwo polarity
B. hydrogen bonding in ethers due to high polartiy
C. insolubility of ethers in water due to less polarity
D. inertness of ethers as compared to alcohos .

Answer

To solve the question regarding why ethers have lower boiling points than their corresponding isomeric alcohols, we can follow these steps:

### Step 1: Understand the Structures
- Ethers and alcohols can have the same molecular formula but different structures. For example, dimethyl ether (CH3-O-CH3) is an ether, while ethanol (C2H5OH) is an alcohol. Both have the molecular formula C2H6O.

**Hint:** Identify the functional groups in both compounds to understand their properties.

### Step 2: Identify Hydrogen Bonding
- Alcohols have a hydroxyl (-OH) group that can participate in hydrogen bonding. This occurs when the hydrogen atom of the -OH group is attracted to the lone pair of electrons on the oxygen atom of another alcohol molecule.

**Hint:** Recall that hydrogen bonding significantly affects the physical properties of compounds, including boiling points.

### Step 3: Compare Polarity
- The presence of hydrogen bonding in alcohols makes them more polar compared to ethers, which do not have the -OH group. Ethers have an oxygen atom, but they lack the hydrogen that can form hydrogen bonds, leading to lower polarity.

**Hint:** Consider how the polarity of a molecule influences its boiling point.

### Step 4: Relate Polarity to Boiling Point
- Boiling point is directly related to the strength of intermolecular forces. Since alcohols can form hydrogen bonds, they have stronger intermolecular forces compared to ethers, which only have weaker van der Waals forces.

**Hint:** Remember that stronger intermolecular forces lead to higher boiling points.

### Step 5: Conclusion
- Since alcohols exhibit hydrogen bonding and higher polarity, they have higher boiling points than ethers, which lack hydrogen bonding and have lower polarity. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is that ethers have lower boiling points than their corresponding isomeric alcohols because of the hydrogen bonding in alcohol that is absent in ethers due to low polarity.

**Final Answer:** A) Hydrogen bonding in alcohol that is absent in ethers due to low polarity.