Question

.Write a short paragraph describing how electronegativity and molecular shape determine the polarity of a molecule. In your paragraph, describe why chemists consider relative electronegativity values and not absolute electronegativity values when determining the polarity of a bond. Also explain how a molecule with polar bonds can be non-polar overall

Answer 1

Answer:

See explanation

Explanation:

Electro negativity refers to the ability of an atom in a molecule to attract the shared pair of electrons of a bond closer to itself.

In a molecule, the polarity of bonds is determined by the relative electro negativity of the bonding atoms. If the difference in electro negativity between the atoms in a bond is significant, such a bond is polar in nature e.g H-Cl, H-Br, C-F, etc.

However, the occurrence of polar bonds in a molecule alone does not guarantee the polarity of the molecule. The polarity of a molecule also depends on the shape of the molecule since dipole moment is a vector quantity.

A molecule is polar when the resultant dipole moment which is determined by the shape of the molecule is non zero.

For instance, CO2 contains two polar C-O bonds but the molecule is non polar because the two dipole moments cancel out. Also, symmetrical molecules are nonpolar irrespective of the presence of polar bonds in the molecule.