A dipole moment is a measure of the polarity of a molecule, indicating how much positive and negative charge is separated within the molecule.
Think of dipole moment like a tug-of-war game. The rope represents the bond between atoms in a molecule. If both teams (atoms) are equally strong, they'll stay in the middle, and there's no winner or loser - this means no dipole moment. But if one team pulls harder (like an atom with more electronegativity), it wins, creating a separation - this is your dipole moment!
Electronegativity: This refers to an atom's ability to attract shared electrons in a chemical bond.
Polarity: This term describes how different electrical poles separate across molecules.
Molecular Geometry: This refers to the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms in a molecule.
Study guides for the entire semester
200k practice questions
Glossary of 50k key terms - memorize important vocab
© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.