Question

The non-metal which is liquid at room temperature is:
A. Chlorine
B. Fluorine
C. Bromine
D. Iodine

Answer 1

Hint: Bromine is a member of the halogen group. It is heavy, volatile, mobile and dangerous liquid t is a red-brown liquid at room temperature that evaporates readily to form a temperature that evaporates readily to form a similarly coloured gas.

Complete answer:
Bromine is the only non-metal that is in liquid at room temperature. It is one of the only two elements on the periodic table that are liquids at room temperature other than Mercury.
Corresponding to periodic trends it is intermediate in electronegativity between chloride and iodine. It is less reactive than chlorine and more reactive than iodine. Conversely, the bromine ion is a weaker reducing agent than iodine, but stronger than chloride. These similarities led to chlorine, bromine and iodine together being classified as one of the original triads of Johann Wolfgang Dobereiner whose work foreshadowed the periodic law for chemical elements.

Now, let's find out the actual reason behind bromine being a liquid.
Bromine is a liquid because the intermolecular forces are strong enough so that it does not evaporate. Bromine forms diatomic molecules and Van der Waals interactions are sufficiently strong. The volatility of Bromine accentuates it's very penetrating, choking and unpleasant odour. Whereas, the other halogens are gases.

Hence, option C is the correct answer.

Note: Do not get confused with mercury, as Mercury is also liquid but it's a metal. The other metals are solids at room temperature, including carbon and sulphur. The mass of bromine in the oceans is about one three-hundredth that of chlorine.