use the drop - down menus to rank the boiling points of the following hydrocarbons. use a \1\ to indicate…

use the drop - down menus to rank the boiling points of the following hydrocarbons. use a \1\ to indicate the compound with the lowest boiling point.

use the drop - down menus to rank the boiling points of the following hydrocarbons. use a \1\ to indicate the compound with the lowest boiling point.

Answer

Explanation:

Step1: Understand boiling - point trend

Boiling points of hydrocarbons increase with increasing molecular weight and decrease with increasing branching.

Step2: Identify molecular weight and branching

The first compound has 8 carbon atoms with some branching. The second has 5 carbon atoms with some branching. The third has 5 carbon atoms with more branching than the second. The fourth is methane ($CH_4$) with 1 carbon atom.

Step3: Rank the boiling points

Methane has the lowest molecular - weight and thus the lowest boiling point (rank 1). The third compound (5 - carbon with high branching) has the second - lowest boiling point (rank 2). The second compound (5 - carbon with less branching) has the third - lowest boiling point (rank 3). The first compound (8 - carbon) has the highest boiling point (rank 4).

Answer:

From left to right: 4, 3, 2, 1