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JAMB UTME - Chemistry - 1993

Question 1 Report

As the difference in electronegativity between bonded atoms increases, polarity of the bond?
Answer Details
As the difference in electronegativity between bonded atoms increases, the polarity of the bond increases. Electronegativity is a measure of an atom's ability to attract electrons in a covalent bond. If the electronegativity difference between the two atoms is large, one atom will have a stronger pull on the shared electrons than the other, creating a polar covalent bond. For example, in a bond between hydrogen and chlorine, chlorine has a higher electronegativity than hydrogen. This means that the electrons in the bond are pulled closer to the chlorine atom than to the hydrogen atom, resulting in a partial negative charge on the chlorine and a partial positive charge on the hydrogen. The bond is polar, and the greater the difference in electronegativity between the two atoms, the more polar the bond will be. Therefore, as the difference in electronegativity between bonded atoms increases, the polarity of the bond increases. If the electronegativity difference between the two atoms is small, the bond is nonpolar. If the difference is large, the bond is polar.
Read lesson note on Chemistry Of Carbon Compounds (Ghana Only) (WAEC)
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