Why does carbon dioxide have a higher vapor pressure than sulfur dioxide at the same temperature?

Question

If both carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide are at the same temperature, why will carbon dioxide's vapor pressure be higher?

Answer 1

It's a question of intermolecular forces which in this case are related to the geometry and polarity of the molecule as well as to the magnitude of the London dispersion forces.

CO2 is linear, while SO2 is bent.  The bent SO2 molecule exhibits dipole-dipole interaction in addition to London dispersion forces, while CO2 only exhibits London dispersion forces, which aren't as strong as the LDF in SO2 because SO2 is more polarizable.