sat chem bonding....

CDN_dancer
Tue, 27 May 2008 22:20:44 +0000

You can look at the structure of the molecule to determine whether it is polar or nonpolar.
Diatomic molecules are non-polar because they share the electrons equally.
CO2 is also non-polar, because it has a linear structure, O=C=O, so the distribution of electrons is also equal.
CH4, CCl4, etc. are also non-polar, because they have a tetrahedral structure, and the “branches” are all identical, and have the same pull on electrons.
CH3Cl would be polar.
H2O is polar, since it has a bent structure.