QUARTER 1:

PHYSICAL SCIENCE-
CHEMISTRY

QUARTER 2:
PHYSICAL SCIENCE-
PHYSICS
POLARITY OF
MOLECULE
OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson, you should be able
to:
1. determine if a molecule is polar or
nonpolar given its structure.
2. Relate the polarity of molecule to its
properties.
There are millions of different molecules, and there
are many ways to sort them.

One way to classify them is based on polarity.

Polarity means having dipoles, a positive and a

negative end.

Based on polarity, molecules can be polar or

nonpolar.
Polar molecules have dipoles. Their dipole
moments do not add up to zero (or do not cancel
out). Water and carbon monoxide are examples
of polar molecules.

Nonpolar molecules do not have positive or

negative ends. Their dipole moments add up to
zero (they cancel out). Carbon tetrachloride and
methane are examples of nonpolar molecules.
Generally, you can tell if a molecule is polar or
nonpolar based on:

1. its structure or shape

2. the polarity of the individual bonds present

in the molecule
Steps in Determining the Polarity of a Molecule

1. Draw the correct Lewis structure and molecular

geometry of the molecule.
Steps in Determining the Polarity of a Molecule

2. Identify the polarity of each bond present in the

molecule. A bond is polar when the atoms in the bond
have different electronegativities.

Recall that electronegativity is the measure of the

tendency of an atom to attract a bonding pair of
electrons. (You may use the periodic table to determine
the electronegativity values of the atoms.)
Steps in Determining the Polarity of a Molecule

3. Draw the dipole moment vectors for polar bonds.

The dipole moment vector points to the more
electronegative atom.
Steps in Determining the Polarity of a Molecule

4. Determine the sum of the dipole moment vectors. If

the dipole moments cancel out each other, the molecule
is nonpolar; otherwise, it is polar.
REMEMBER:

Note that the shape or structure does not

directly determine whether the molecule is
polar or nonpolar. However, you need to
know the shape of the molecule to know if
the dipole moments cancel out.
How will you relate the strength
of attraction between the
molecules to their observable
properties?
The properties of the molecules are related to their polarity.
To understand the relationship, you must be able to describe the
force of attraction between the molecules.

Polar molecules have partially positive and negative ends.

When two polar molecules are near each other, the negative
end of one molecule is attracted to the positive end of the other.
The separation of charges result in a strong force of attraction
between the molecules.

On the other hand, nonpolar molecules do not have positive or

negative ends. Between two neighboring nonpolar molecules, the
attraction is very minimal.
Solubility

Do you remember the rule of thumb “like dissolves like” in your

previous Chemistry lessons? This rule is applied on the concept of
solubility of molecules. Polar solutes dissolve in polar solvents.
For example, sucrose is soluble in water because both of them
are polar molecules. On the other hand, nonpolar solutes
dissolve in nonpolar solvents. For example, hexane (C6H14) and
benzene (C6H6) are nonpolar molecules because they only
contain nonpolar C-H bonds. The combination of these molecules
form a solution.
Melting point

It is the temperature at which a solid turns into liquid. Heat is

needed to break the forces of attraction between the molecules.
Because the polar molecules have relatively stronger forces of
attraction compared to nonpolar ones, greater amount of heat
must be applied to break these forces. Therefore, in
general, polar molecules have higher melting points than
nonpolar molecules. For example, hydrogen fluoride (HF) is
polar while fluorine (F2) is nonpolar. HF has higher melting point
than F2 .
Boiling point

Boiling point is the temperature at which a liquid turns into gas.

Similar to melting point, greater amount of heat is needed to
break the forces of attraction of polar molecules compared to
nonpolar ones. Generally, polar molecules have higher boiling
points than nonpolar molecules. For example, methanol
(CH3OH) is a polar molecule while methane (CH4) is nonpolar.
The boiling of (CH3OH) is higher than that of (CH4) .
Surface Tension is the tendency of a fluid to acquire the least possible
surface area. Molecules with stronger intermolecular forces will exert
greater cohesive forces and acquire less surface area (higher surface
tension) than those with weaker IMFA.

Viscosity is the measure of a fluid’s resistance to flow. Molecules

with stronger intermolecular forces have greater resistance to flow,
and thus, higher viscosity compared to those with weaker IMFA.

Vapor Pressure is the pressure exerted by a vapor in equilibrium with

its liquid phase in a closed system. Molecules with stronger
intermolecular forces have less tendency to escape as gas, and
thus lower vapor pressure compared to those with weaker IMFA.
Water molecules are polar. The partially Carbon dioxide molecules are nonpolar.
negative end of one molecule is attracted to There is a minimal force of attraction
the partially positive end of another between the molecules.
molecule.

Based on the interaction of molecules, water is expected to have higher melting and boiling points than
carbon dioxide.
Key Points
Polarity means having dipoles, a positive and a negative end. Based on polarity,
molecules can be polar or nonpolar.

Polar molecules have dipoles. Their dipole moments do not add up to zero (or do not
cancel out).

Nonpolar molecules do not have positive or negative ends. Their dipole moments
add up to zero (they cancel out).
In general, you can tell if a molecule is polar or nonpolar based on the shape of the
molecule and the polarity of the individual bonds present in the molecule.
Polar molecules have stronger attractive forces compared to nonpolar molecules.

In general, polar molecules have higher boiling and melting points compared to
nonpolar ones.
“Like dissolves like.” Polar solutes dissolve in polar solvents while nonpolar solutes
dissolve in nonpolar
Intermolecular forces of Attraction
(IMFA) -are the attractive forces
present between molecules. Generally,
they are called van der Waals forces,
named after the Dutch scientist Johannes
van der Waals.
The different types of intermolecular
forces of attraction (IMFA) are:

1. Dispersion forces
2. Dipole-dipole forces
3. Hydrogen bonding
Dispersion forces:

*present in all molecules

*caused by fluctuations in the electron
distribution within atoms or molecules
*weak type of IMFA
Dipole-dipole forces

*attractive forces between polar molecules

*result of the electrical interactions among
dipoles on neighboring molecules.
*moderately strong type of IMFA
Hydrogen bonding
*a special kind of dipole-dipole force
an attractive force between a hydrogen
atom of one molecule and a highly
electronegative atom (O, N, or F) of
another molecule
*strongest type of IMFA
REMEMBER:

The intermolecular forces discussed here are all

attractive in nature. However, keep in mind that
repulsive forces also exist between molecules.

A compound can have more than one type of

IMFA.
Explain the effect of intermolecular forces
on the following properties of substances.
*Solubility
*Melting point
*Boiling Point
*Freezing point
*Surface Tension
*Viscosity
*Vapor pressure
OBJECTIVE:

At the end of this session, I should be

able to identify the types of
intermolecular forces present between
molecules of different substances:
Geckos and Intermolecular Forces

Geckos have an amazing ability to

adhere to most surfaces. They can quickly
run up smooth walls and across ceilings
that have no toe-holds, and they do this
without having suction cups or a sticky
substance on their toes.
And while a gecko can lift its feet easily as it
walks along a surface, if you attempt to pick it
up, it sticks to the surface. How are geckos (as
well as spiders and some other insects) able to
do this? Although this phenomenon has been
investigated for hundreds of years, scientists
only recently uncovered the details of the
process that allows geckos’ feet to behave this
way.
Geckos’ toes are covered with hundreds
of thousands of tiny hairs known as setae,
with each seta, in turn, branching into
hundreds of tiny, flat, triangular tips
called spatulae.
The huge numbers of spatulae on its setae
provide a gecko with a large total surface
area for sticking to a surface.
In 2000, Kellar Autumn, who leads a multi-
institutional gecko research team, found that
geckos adhered equally well to both polar
silicon dioxide and nonpolar gallium arsenide.
This proved that geckos stick to surfaces
because of dispersion forces—weak
intermolecular attractions arising from
temporary, synchronized charge distributions
between adjacent molecules.
Although dispersion forces are very weak,
the total attraction over millions of
spatulae is large enough to support many
times the gecko’s weight.
In 2014, two scientists developed a model
to explain how geckos can rapidly
transition from “sticky” to “non-sticky.”
Alex Greaney and Congcong Hu at
Oregon State University described how
geckos can achieve this by changing the
angle between their spatulae and the
surface. Geckos’ feet, which are normally
nonsticky, become sticky when a small
shear force is applied.
By curling and uncurling their toes, geckos
can alternate between sticking and
unsticking from a surface, and thus easily
move across it. Further investigations may
eventually lead to the development of
better adhesives and other applications.