Question

Because oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, the water molecule and the covalent bonds that form it are described as __________.

Answer 1

Answer:

Polar/ Hydrophilic

Explanation:

Electronegative atoms is the tendency of an element to attract a pair of electrons to itself.

Since water, H2O is composed of H+ and O2-, oxygen os the most electronegative element and this is because of it incomplete outer shell i.e valence electron is 6 (4 electrons in its p- orbital) and so it needs a pair of electrons to become stable, hence its high affinity for electrons.

Hydrogen on the other hand cannot lose its only electron and it has one electron in its s orbital. So there is sharing of these electrons, hence the definition of covalent bond.

A polar covalent bond is formed because the electronegativity difference between Oxygen a d Hydrogen is not negligible.