What makes a freezing point higher

A solid with high intermolecular forces will require more energy i. Conversely, as the temperature of a liquid sample decreases, the average kinetic energy of the molecules decreases and they move more slowly. Since the molecules are near each other, the slower they go, the more the intermolecular forces attract them to each other.

Molecules with stronger intermolecular forces are pulled together tightly to form a solid at higher temperatures, so their freezing point is higher. This particular resource used the following sources:.

Skip to main content. Search for:. Freezing Point Depression. Learning Objective Discuss the effects of a solute on the freezing point of a solvent. Key Points The freezing point depression can be calculated using the pure solvent freezing point and the molality of the solution. Kay Sandberg , associate teaching professor of chemistry at NC State, for taking the time to talk to The Abstract about the science of freezing.

Any errors in the above post are mine, and mine alone. Simplistic, unscientific explanation. However, even though it may be true that you can't raise the freezing point by adding a solute, researchers have discovered other ways to the freezing point of supercooled water.

One is by using electricity, and the other is by adding alcohol or testosterone. These methods work only with pure water. The process by which water freezes is complicated by the fact that water is a polar molecule, which means that, even though its net charge is zero, it has a positive and negative end, like a magnet. Water molecules bind electrically to each other and to impurities in the water by forming hydrogen bonds, and they coalesce into ice more easily if the water contains impurities.

If you can find a way to suspend a droplet of pure water in the air without having it touch anything, it could remain in the liquid state at temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Such supercooled water can stay in the liquid state until the temperature falls to C F. Adding alcohol to the water, however, changes its behavior.

When cooled, alcohol forms ice-like hexagons, and the water droplets coalesce around these instead of floating freely around each other. The hexagonal structures provide the same type of stability as solid impurities. By adding alcohol, scientists have found they can raise the freezing point of pure water to 0 C.

Israeli scientists tried a different approach to raising the temperature at which supercooled water would freeze.