Polar and Non-Polar Molecules

by Ron Kurtus (revised 13 September 2005)

The arrangement or geometry of the atoms in some molecules is such that one end of the
molecule has a positive electrical charge and the other side has a negative charge. If this
is the case, the molecule is called a polar molecule, meaning that it has electrical poles.
Otherwise, it is called a non-polar molecule. Whether molecules are polar or non-polar
determines if they will mix to form a solution or that they don't mix well together.

Questions you may have include:

• What is a polar molecule?

• What is an example of a non-polar molecule?
• What rule is there to determine if substances will form solutions?

This lesson will answer those questions. There is a mini-quiz near the end of the lesson.

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Polar molecules
Chemical bonding is the result of either an atom sharing one or more outer orbit electrons
with another atom or an atom taking outer orbit electrons from the atom with which it is
bonding. Normally, an atom has an even distribution of electrons in the orbits or shells,
but if more end up on one side that the other in a molecule, there can be a resulting
electrical field in that area.

Water

Water is a polar molecule because of the way the atoms bind in the molecule such that
there are excess electrons on the Oxygen side and a lack or excess of positive charges on
the Hydrogen side of the molecule.
 Water is a polar molecule with positive charges
on one side and negative on the other

Gases

Examples of polar molecules of materials that are gases under standard conditions are:
Ammonia (NH3), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2) and Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S).

Non-polar molecules
A non-polar molecule is one that the electrons are distributed more symmetrically and
thus does not have an abundance of charges at the opposite sides. The charges all cancel
out each other.

The electrical charges in non-polar Carbon Dioxide are evenly distributed

Liquids

Most hydrocarbons are non-polar molecules. Examples include Toluene and Gasoline.
(See Hydrocarbon Bonding for more information.)

Gases

Common examples of non-polar gases are the noble or inert gases, including Helium
(He), Neon (Ne), Krypton (Kr) and Xenon (Xe). Other non-polar gases include the
Hydrogen (H2), Nitrogen (N2), Oxygen (O2), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4) and
Ethylene (C2H4) molecules.

Rule for solutions

The rule for determining if a mixture becomes a solution is that polar molecules will mix
to form solutions and non-polar molecules will form solutions, but a polar and non-polar
combination will not form a solution.

Water is a polar molecule and oil is a non-polar molecule. Thus they won't form a
solution. On the other hand, since alcohol is a polar molecule, it will form a solution with
water.

Summary
The geometry of atoms in polar molecules is such that one end of the molecule has a
positive electrical charge and the other side has a negative charge. Non-polar molecules
do not have charges at their ends. Mixing molecules of the same polarity usually results
in the molecules forming a solution.