What is the overall polarity of methane?
Question 11 options:
a) polar ionic
b) polar covalent
c) nonpolar ionic
d) nonpolar covalent
e) none of the above
d) nonpolar covalent
are you sure?
I apologize for the incorrect response. Methane (CH4) is actually a nonpolar covalent molecule. The carbon atom in methane is surrounded by four identical hydrogen atoms in a tetrahedral arrangement. The molecule has a symmetrical shape, causing the electron distribution to be balanced and resulting in a nonpolar overall polarity. Therefore, the correct answer is d) nonpolar covalent.
The overall polarity of methane is d) nonpolar covalent.
To determine the overall polarity of a molecule like methane, we need to consider the electronegativity difference between the atoms and the molecular geometry.
First, let's look at the Lewis structure of methane (CH4), which consists of a carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms.
Methane is formed through covalent bonds, where the electrons are shared between atoms. Carbon and hydrogen atoms have slightly different electronegativities, with carbon being more electronegative than hydrogen. However, since the electronegativity difference between carbon and hydrogen is relatively small, the carbon-hydrogen bond can be considered nonpolar covalent, where the electrons are shared equally.
Now, let's examine the molecular geometry of methane. The central carbon atom has four identical hydrogen atoms bonded to it. The molecule's shape is a tetrahedron, with the carbon atom at the center and the four hydrogen atoms positioned symmetrically around it. Since the molecule has a symmetrical arrangement of the atoms, the individual bond polarities (carbon-hydrogen) cancel each other out, resulting in a nonpolar molecule overall.
Therefore, the correct answer is d) nonpolar covalent.