[Toxage]

I am have no clue what volatile means, every reference says something different.

A) Easily Evaporates

B) Has a B.P lower then water

C) Evaporates at or below room temperature

Which one is the correct one?

[enahs]

They all imply the same thing; that at normal conditions (roughly room temperature and pressure) it readily vaporizes evporates.

*edit*
My apologizes. I said vaporize by accident when I meant to say evaporates.

[Toxage]

I found it my notes that Ethanol is volatile... But the B.P is 79.5 celcius which is no where near room temperature....

[enahs]

I found it my notes that Ethanol is volatile... But the B.P is 79.5 celcius which is no where near room temperature....

Yes. And water's boiling point is 100 C. But water still evaporates slowly at room temperature, no?

Read in your book or the internet about evaporation; it is not the same as boiling (vaporizing).


*edit*
I am sorry. I said vaporize earlier when I meant to say evaporate. My bad. Hopefully with that correction you are not confused now.

[Borek]

Volatile is not a qualitative term, so it is not precisely defined. In practical terms - if something is volatile it won't sit long in an open vessel in the lab, and you can be sure its vapor will be everywhere near the vessel.