Posted by lara on Monday, February 20, 2012 at 2:26pm.
You can get a guess by comparing the electronegativities of the elements.
For example, in H2O, H has EN of about 2.1 and O of about 3.5 for a difference of about 1.4. In dichloromethane, C is about 2.5 and Cl is about 3 for a difference of about 0.5. We might guess from this that water is more polar. This doesn't take into account the 3-D arrangement of the atoms nor the number of different atoms attached to the central atom (2 H to O in H2O and 2 Cl to C in CH2Cl2) but since both dichloromethane and water are essentially tetrahedral and both have the same number of atoms attached to the central atom (the H atoms to C in CH2Cl2 have little difference in EN) then we would stick with water. The only REAL test, I suppose, is to look up the dipole moment of the molecule. Those tables are not widespread and most don't have extensive listings. However, I found water and dichloromethane on the web; water is 1.85 Debye and CH2Cl2 is 1.4 so our best guess was right.
Related Questions
Chemistry - Can yuo please answer this question: Both water and carbon dioxide ...
science(chem) - A few questions. 1. What is the difference btwn crystalization ...
HELP SCIENCE (Biology) - Why water is a polar molecule? and What property of ...
college Chemistry - Decide if the molecule has a dipole moment, (if the molecule...
CHEMISTRY - Hello, I am wondering what exactly characterizes a polar molecule. ...
CHEMISTRY--- PLEASE HELP!!! - Hello, I am wondering what exactly characterizes a...
Chemistry - 1. Why is benzoic acid more soluble in water than in octane? My ...
Chemistry - 1. Water is a polar molecule. Therefore, it acts as a polar sollvent...
chemistry - Water has a bent molecular shape, but what if water had a linear ...
Chemistry - If the gas chromatograph is polar, and a mixture of a polar compound...
For Further Reading
