Electronegativity

Question 1

What is electronegativity?

Answer 1

It determines if a bond is polar or not. It is a measure of an elements ability to pull shared pairs of electrons towards itself.

Question 2

What happens if the bonded atoms are the same element ?

Answer 2

Then the difference in their electronegativity will be 0. As a result, the bond between them is considered non - polar.

Question 3

What happens if the bonded atoms are different elements? Is the bond polar?

Answer 3

If the difference in their electronegativity is between 0.5 and 1.7 then the bond is considered polar.

The one that it pulling the electrons to itself is partially negative and the other one is partially positive.

Question 4

What happens if the difference in electronegativity is more than 1.7?

Answer 4

Then there is no bond because one of them atoms pull on the electrons would be so strong that it would take them completely. This is called an ionic bond.

Question 5

What is the difference between polar and non - polar bonds?

Answer 5

Non - polar bonds :
- they are not easy to break because the shared pair of electrons are evenly distributed between the 2 bonded atoms

Polar bonds :
- they are easier to break because the shared pair of electrons are not evenly distributed between the two bonded atoms