(c) Does the molecule BF 2 Cl have a dipole moment?

Welcome back everyone. We need to identify if dia chloral, di floor, methane has a dipole moment. So we're going to begin by noting down the electro negativity values for the atoms that make up this compound. Beginning with carbon recall that from our textbooks. Carbon has an electro negativity of 2.5. And for the election negativity of chlorine recall that in our textbooks it's a value of 3.0 and then for flooring we have an electro negativity of 4.0 recall that flooring is the most electro negative element on the periodic table. We next want to consider the election negativity difference between our bonds making up our molecule. So we have carbon chlorine bonds versus our election. Sorry, electro negativity difference between our carbon fluorine bonds making up the molecule. And we want to recall that whenever we have an electro negativity difference represented as Delta E. In that is greater than a value of .5. Then that means that our molecule is a polar molecule. And so looking at our bond between carbon chlorine, we're going to take the difference where for chlorine we have the higher value being 3.0 minus carbons. Election negativity value of 2.5. This difference gives us an election negativity difference of 0.5 for the carbon chlorine bond and recognize that because chlorine is more election negative than carbon with its higher election negativity value as you know as we stated for chlorine will have a die pool towards the chlorine atoms in our molecule represented by the plus sign towards the carbon here and the end of our arrow pointing towards our more negative atom being chlorine. Then we have our election negativity difference between our carbon fluorine bond. So beginning with Florence election negativity being 4.0 we would take the difference between carbon of 2.5 and this difference gives us a value of 1.5. And so we would see that we have a higher election negativity difference than sorry, in our carbon fluorine bond than in our carbon chlorine bond. And here yet again we have a die pool towards the more election negativity adam being flooring. So we would say that our carbon chlorine bond is less electro negative than our carbon fluorine bond. And because the election activity difference between carbon flooring is 1.5 we therefore have a higher di pole for our carbon flooring bonds in the molecule. And because we have a higher di pole for these bonds, we would say therefore yes, there is a net dipole, sorry, a net dipole moment in our day chloral, floral, methane molecule. And so this would be our final answer to complete this example corresponding to choice a as the correct choice. So I hope this made sense. And let us know if you have any questions

Ch.9 - Molecular Geometry and Bonding Theories

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Brown 15th Edition

Ch.9 - Molecular Geometry and Bonding Theories

Problem 39c

Chapter 9, Problem 39c

(c) Does the molecule BF₂Cl have a dipole moment?

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insert step 1> Identify the molecular geometry of BF2Cl. Boron trifluoride (BF3) is trigonal planar, but replacing one fluorine with chlorine may alter the symmetry.

insert step 2> Determine the electronegativity of each atom: Boron (B), Fluorine (F), and Chlorine (Cl). Fluorine is more electronegative than chlorine.

insert step 3> Analyze the symmetry of the molecule. In a trigonal planar molecule, if all surrounding atoms are the same, the dipoles cancel out. However, BF2Cl has different atoms.

insert step 4> Consider the direction of the dipole moments. The B-F bonds will have dipoles pointing towards the fluorine atoms, and the B-Cl bond will have a dipole pointing towards the chlorine atom.

insert step 5> Evaluate if the dipoles cancel out. Due to the difference in electronegativity and the asymmetry introduced by the chlorine atom, the dipoles do not cancel completely, resulting in a net dipole moment.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Molecular Geometry

Molecular geometry refers to the three-dimensional arrangement of atoms within a molecule. The shape of a molecule is determined by the positions of its atoms and the presence of lone pairs of electrons, which can influence bond angles and overall symmetry. Understanding the geometry of BF2Cl is essential to assess whether the molecule is polar or nonpolar.

Polarity and Dipole Moment

Polarity in molecules arises from differences in electronegativity between bonded atoms, leading to uneven distribution of electron density. A dipole moment is a vector quantity that measures the separation of positive and negative charges in a molecule. If a molecule has polar bonds and an asymmetrical shape, it will have a net dipole moment, indicating polarity.

Symmetry in Molecules

Symmetry plays a crucial role in determining the overall polarity of a molecule. A symmetrical molecule, even with polar bonds, may have a dipole moment of zero due to the cancellation of individual bond dipoles. Analyzing the symmetry of BF2Cl helps in concluding whether the dipole moments of its bonds cancel out or contribute to a net dipole moment.