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Topic: Polarity is what exactly?  (Read 12204 times)

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non_compus_mentis

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Polarity is what exactly?
« on: April 10, 2004, 06:51:51 AM »
You know how you're all just dying to explain polarity to me... ? Haha. Please. From the start.

Offline gregpawin

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Re:Polarity is what exactly?
« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2004, 03:54:17 PM »
I've got nothin'

Bob Bobson

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Re:Polarity is what exactly?
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2004, 12:16:07 PM »
This may be a dumb question, but is ozone polar?  As far as I know, it does not have polar bonds but I know oxygen is paramagnetic (has unpaired electrons) and thus attracted to a magnetic field.  Also, I know ozone has a bent 120 degree shape--which is usually polar.  Any insight?

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Re:Polarity is what exactly?
« Reply #3 on: April 28, 2004, 03:43:11 PM »
I had always thought that polarity was caused by differing electronegativities of the atoms involved in a bond.  If you have two atoms of the same element bonded to each other, they both have the same electronegativity so they would have to be non-polar.  Is that correct?  
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Corvettaholic

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Re:Polarity is what exactly?
« Reply #4 on: April 28, 2004, 03:57:03 PM »
Based on a some recent reading today, I'd say you're right Jdurg. The way I understand it, you need differing electronegativty to be polar, and if its a big difference... the bond is no longer covalent but ionic.

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Offline jdurg

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Re:Polarity is what exactly?
« Reply #6 on: April 30, 2004, 09:07:53 AM »
polarity of ozone:

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/chem00/chem00707.htm

http://www.colby.edu/chemistry/webmo/ozone.html

Heh.  This shows why polarity can be a bit of a pain to deal with.  On a bonding level, O3 is completely non-polar.  But on a molecular level, it is indeed polar.  (I.E. all the bonds involved are completely non-polar as they are all the same atom, but the geometry of the molecule causes the electrons to seemingly gather at one end of the molecule).  I guess you could say everybody was right on this one.   ;D
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