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When does the shape of a molecule affect its polarity?

Answer 1

The shape of the molecule will determine the direction of each of the individual bond dipoles, and thus, will always play a role in determining the polarity of the molecule as a whole.

This indicates that the bond dipole is a vector quantity: picture each polar bond in a molecule as a tiny arrow pointing from positive to negative.

The direction of the bond dipole vectors is determined by the geometry of the molecule, just like any other vector quantity, and is therefore an essential part of its description.

The total of these individual bond dipoles determines the polarity of the molecule.

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Answer 2

Wyatt Adkins

The shape of a molecule affects its polarity when the individual bond dipoles do not cancel each other out due to the molecule's asymmetrical shape. This results in an overall molecular dipole moment, making the molecule polar.

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Answer from HIX Tutor

When evaluating a one-sided limit, you need to be careful when a quantity is approaching zero since its sign is different depending on which way it is approaching zero from. Let us look at some examples.