What type of liquid is water? (polar or nonpolar) show your calculations.
http://www.biology.arizona.edu/biochemistry/tutorials/chemistry/page3.html
how do you put the calculation on words?
Water is a polar compound. How do you know? The electronegativity (EN)of O is 3.5. The EN of H is 2.1. So the oxygen pulls the electrons a little closer to itself; therefore, O has a slightly negative charge while H is left with a slightly positive charge (due to the shift in electrons) so the water molecule has a separation of charge and is a dipole. In a non-polar compound the electrons of the bond are shared equally; in a polar compound, they are not shared equally because of the difference in EN.
Water is a polar liquid. To determine whether a liquid is polar or nonpolar, we can look at its molecular structure and the distribution of its electron density.
In the case of water (H2O), the oxygen atom is more electronegative than the hydrogen atoms, meaning it attracts the shared electrons more strongly. As a result, the oxygen atom has a slight negative charge (δ−), and each hydrogen atom has a slight positive charge (δ+). This uneven distribution of charge creates a dipole moment in the water molecule, making it a polar molecule.
To further confirm this, we can calculate the dipole moment of water using the formula:
μ = Q × d
Where:
- μ is the dipole moment
- Q is the magnitude of the charge separation
- d is the distance between the charges
In the case of water:
- Q = 1.85 × 10^−29 C (charge of each hydrogen atom)
- d = 1.85 × 10^−10 m (distance between the charges, which is half the bond length in water)
Plugging these values into the formula:
μ = (1.85 × 10^−29 C) × (1.85 × 10^−10 m)
Simplifying the calculation:
μ = 3.4225 × 10^−39 C·m
Therefore, the dipole moment of water is approximately 3.4225 × 10^−39 C·m, which confirms its polar nature.