Question

Which two factors are essential for a molecule to be considered polar? nonpolar bonds and asymmetrical structure, nonpolar bonds and symmetrical structure, polar bonds and symmetrical structure, polar bonds and asymmetrical structure

Answer 1

Answer:

D. Polar bonds and asymmetrical structure.

Explanation:

To be polar, a molecule must have polar bonds and their bond dipoles must not cancel. That is, the molecule must have an asymmetrical structure.  

For example, water is a bent molecule. The O-H bonds are polar, with their bond dipoles pointing toward the O atom (See Figure 1).

The x-components of the dipoles cancel, but the y-components reinforce each other.

A. and B. Wrong. If the bonds are nonpolar, the molecule is nonpolar.

D. Wrong. If the polar bonds are arranged symmetrically, the molecule is nonpolar.

For example, carbon dioxide is a linear molecule. The C=O bonds are polar, with their bond dipoles pointing towards the O atoms (see Figure 2).

The bond dipoles are equal, but in opposite directions, so they cancel each other.

Carbon dioxide has polar bonds, but it is a nonpolar molecule because of symmetry .

Answer 2

A nonpolar molecule is entirely symmetric. For a molecule to be nonpolar, it must have at least a linear, trigonal planar, or a tetrahedra shape. However, that’s not totally enough. For the molecule to be completely symmetric, aside from having a symmetric shape, all of the atoms that are connected to the central atom must be alike. Therefore, symmetry has two components, they are the geometric arrangement of the outer atoms and whether or not they are all the same.

Fundamentally, non-uniform or it is the uniform, distribution of electrons that ascertains if a molecule is polar or nonpolar, but this distribution is established by the dispersal and distinctiveness of the atoms in a molecule.