ok...Im confused...polarity..can you explain pls

[toooth]

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hello...
So Ive been doing destroyer and it has just confused me on how to determing if something is polar or not. I know that when we have a bond between two atoms where one is more electronegative than the other, you generally get a dipole which if looked upon as vectors- cancel eachother out, it is nonpolar(ccl4). But, if they add up, create a polar molecule(h2o).
But what if you have LONE PAIRS on the central atom?...what happens if you have a single lone pair or if you have a couple of lone pairs on the central atom?..how would this effect the polarity?>..

Id appreciate your insight...🙂

 

[mikexima]

H2O is polar because of the lone pairs. you have to consider how the lone pairs affect the overall geomtry of the molecule. in waters case, it is bent, so both bonds combine to a polar vector facing north. CCl4 is not polar because all the bonds cancel each other.

 

[americanpierg]

polarity is very simple. look at the geometry. anything that is symetrical is not polar, ie tetrahedral, straight, etc.

if its a nonsymetrical shape, ie if it bends, or if its trigonal pyramidal with a lone pair (like NH3) or whatever, then its polar.

though this isnt too helpful when the molecules become big