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Ch.9 - Molecular Geometry and Bonding Theories

Chapter 9, Problem 39c

(c) Does the molecule BF2Cl have a dipole moment?

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Welcome back everyone. We need to identify if dia chloral, di floor, methane has a dipole moment. So we're going to begin by noting down the electro negativity values for the atoms that make up this compound. Beginning with carbon recall that from our textbooks. Carbon has an electro negativity of 2.5. And for the election negativity of chlorine recall that in our textbooks it's a value of 3.0 and then for flooring we have an electro negativity of 4.0 recall that flooring is the most electro negative element on the periodic table. We next want to consider the election negativity difference between our bonds making up our molecule. So we have carbon chlorine bonds versus our election. Sorry, electro negativity difference between our carbon fluorine bonds making up the molecule. And we want to recall that whenever we have an electro negativity difference represented as Delta E. In that is greater than a value of .5. Then that means that our molecule is a polar molecule. And so looking at our bond between carbon chlorine, we're going to take the difference where for chlorine we have the higher value being 3.0 minus carbons. Election negativity value of 2.5. This difference gives us an election negativity difference of 0.5 for the carbon chlorine bond and recognize that because chlorine is more election negative than carbon with its higher election negativity value as you know as we stated for chlorine will have a die pool towards the chlorine atoms in our molecule represented by the plus sign towards the carbon here and the end of our arrow pointing towards our more negative atom being chlorine. Then we have our election negativity difference between our carbon fluorine bond. So beginning with Florence election negativity being 4.0 we would take the difference between carbon of 2.5 and this difference gives us a value of 1.5. And so we would see that we have a higher election negativity difference than sorry, in our carbon fluorine bond than in our carbon chlorine bond. And here yet again we have a die pool towards the more election negativity adam being flooring. So we would say that our carbon chlorine bond is less electro negative than our carbon fluorine bond. And because the election activity difference between carbon flooring is 1.5 we therefore have a higher di pole for our carbon flooring bonds in the molecule. And because we have a higher di pole for these bonds, we would say therefore yes, there is a net dipole, sorry, a net dipole moment in our day chloral, floral, methane molecule. And so this would be our final answer to complete this example corresponding to choice a as the correct choice. So I hope this made sense. And let us know if you have any questions