why is sodium chloride crystalline but carbon dioxide is gas?

Answer 1

Carbon Dioxide just has a lower boiling point and melting point. Also, carbon dioxide is a molecule and sodium chloride is an ionic compound. Ionic compounds typically have high meting and boiling points and as a result are solid at room temperature.

Answer 2

Sodium Chloride is an ionic compound, which means that the atoms in the form of ions are held together by strong electrostatic forces-strong enough to limit the movement of the individual atoms within itself.
It is this property that ionic compounds have very high melting and boiling points. On the other hand, the carbon dioxide molecule interacts with other carbon dioxide molecules around it with WEAK van der Waals forces. These forces are very weak that just an addition of very little heat energy is sufficient enough to pull one molecule from another. That is why carbon dioxide is a gas at room temperature or even at 0C. The boiling point of carbon dioxide is even lower than 0C.

In contrast, it requires a lot of energy to pull one sodium ion away from six others chloride ions surrounding it. This strong attraction is also responsible of making the distance between the sodium and chloride very small and compact, forming a nice orderly crystalline structure.

Answer 3

Material properties are the chacteristics of the various elements and compounds - their study is called science.

We are there to explore their properties and make good use of it, rather than to worry about why there is a sun and why there is a moon.

What is the purpose of your question ?

Answer 4

The properties of each compund are different