POLARITY OF

MOLECULES
Chemical bonds are formed when atoms lose, accept or share
electrons.
An ionic bond:
• occurs when there is a transfer of one or more valence
electrons from one atom to another.
• It exists between metal and nonmetal atoms where metal
loses electron/s while nonmetal accepts the electron/s donated
by metal.
A covalent bond:
• when two nonmetal atoms combine, neither of them loses
or gains an electron.
• Instead, electron pairs are being shared by both atoms
Activity 1:
Tell whether the compound below is an ionic compound (IC)
or covalent compound (CC) based on the type of chemical
bond present.
____1. NaCl _____6. N₂O
____ 2. CO₂ _____7. PCl5

____ 3. CaCl₂ _____8.KBr

____ 4. CCl
4 _____9. HCl
____ 5. Fe₂O3 ____ 10.AlCl3
The polarity of molecules is determined by two factors:
1. Polarity of bonds based on the electronegativity difference
of the atoms involved.
2. Geometrical shape of the molecules which can be
predicted via valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR)
theory.
Electronegativity (EN) measures the relative tendency of an
atom to attract electrons to itself when chemically combined
with other atoms.
Take a look at the electronegativity values of some elements:
• It increases within a period (from left to right)
• It decreases within a group (from top to bottom)
• The higher the value of EN, the more it tends to attract
electrons towards itself.
So what is the connection of electronegativity to the polarity of
bonds?
We could use the electronegativity values of the atoms involved
to get the absolute electronegativity difference (∆EN) which
will help us in predicting what type of chemical bond (ionic,
polar covalent, or nonpolar covalent) would exist between
them.
Table 1. Type of bond based on electronegativity difference
(∆EN) of bonded atoms
TYPE OF BOND ELECTRONEGATIVITY DIFFERENCE
(ΔEN)

IONIC BOND ≥1.7

POLAR COVALENT BOND 0.5 to 1.6

NON-POLAR COVALENT ≤ 0.4

BOND
ACTIVITY: Predict what type of bond is present between the
following pairs of atoms by determining their electronegativity
difference.
1. Ca and Cl
2. Cl and Cl
3. H and Cl
4. S and O
5. C and N
A polar covalent bond is formed when electrons are shared
unequally by two atoms in a compound.
The bonded pair of atoms form an electric dipole (represented by
).
Dipole means “two poles” which means that a molecule has one
positive end and one negative end.
In this type of bond, the atom with the higher EN value becomes
the partial negative pole (symbolized as ẟ-) while the atom with
the lower EN value becomes the partially positive (symbolized as
ẟ+) pole.
Always bear in mind that the direction of the arrow is always
pointing from a more electropositive pole to a more electronegative
pole.
• Take HCl for example, H has higher EN than Cl, thus the direction
of the arrow is from H pointing to Cl and there is unequal electron
density as represented by the size of the circle.
On the other hand, a nonpolar covalent bond develops if both
atoms equally share a pair of electrons between them.
This occurs when the bonding atoms have approximately equal
EN value or equal ability to attract electrons to each side. A
nonpolar covalent bond is an example of a bond formed when two
chlorine (Cl) atoms combine.
Note: PLEASE DO AN ADVANCE READING ON THIS LESSON. THE ACTIVITIES ON THE SLIDES
WILL BE ANSWERED DURING OUR DISCUSSION NEXT MEETING.

THANK YOU.