Question

The carbon dioxide molecule is linear. The electronegativities of C and O are 2.5 and 3.5, respectively. Based on these values and on consideration of molecular geometry, the C-O bond is ________ and the molecule is ________.

Answer 1

Answer: Polar; Non-Polar

Answer 2

Answer: polar,non polar

Explanation:

The electronegativity of C is 2.5 and of O is 3.5 .The difference in electronegativity(3.5-2.5=1.0) is 1.0 and as per rule if the difference in electronegativity of atoms in a bond is >0.4 then the bond is considered polar. So in this case C-O bond is polar.

However, the symmetrical arrangement of the bonds in the molecule of CO2 makes its non polar.The CO2 molecule is linear so the C-O dipole moment on either side will cancel out each other hence the net dipole moment will be zero.