Bond Polarity

Front

What is bond polarity?

Back

Bond polarity refers to the distribution of electrical charge over the atoms joined by the bond. It indicates how equally or unequally electrons are shared between the atoms.

Front

What type of bond is formed when electrons are shared equally?

Back

A nonpolar covalent bond is formed when electrons are shared equally between two atoms.

Front

What type of bond is formed when electrons are shared unequally?

Back

A polar covalent bond is formed when electrons are shared unequally between two atoms.

Front

What are dipoles in chemistry?

Back

Dipoles are pairs of equal and opposite charges separated by a distance. They occur in polar molecules where there is a difference in electronegativity between bonded atoms.

Front

What is electronegativity?

Back

Electronegativity is the ability of an atom to attract electrons in a chemical bond. It is a measure of how strongly an atom can pull electrons towards itself.

Front

How does electronegativity difference determine bond type?

Back

If the electronegativity difference between two atoms is less than 0.4, the bond is typically nonpolar covalent. Between 0.4 and 1.7, it is polar covalent, and greater than 1.7 usually indicates an ionic bond.

Front

What is the Lewis structure of a molecule?

Back

The Lewis structure is a diagram that shows the bonding between atoms of a molecule and the lone pairs of electrons that may exist.

Front

What is the Lewis structure for water (H2O)?

Back

The Lewis structure for water shows the oxygen atom in the center with two hydrogen atoms bonded to it, and two lone pairs of electrons on the oxygen.

Front

What is a polar covalent bond?

Back

A polar covalent bond is a type of chemical bond where a pair of electrons is unequally shared between two atoms, leading to partial positive and negative charges.

Front

What is a nonpolar molecule?

Back

A nonpolar molecule is a molecule that has no separation of charge, so no positive or negative poles are formed. This occurs when the electrons are shared equally.