Water As A Polar Molecule
Water As A Polar Molecule
Water As A Polar Molecule
Molecule
Essential Question:
How do the unique characteristics
of water determine its interactions
with chemical and biological
systems? TEKS: 8D
The Polarity of Water
Water has a simple
molecular structure. It
is composed of one
oxygen atom and two
hydrogen atoms. Each
hydrogen atom is
covalently bonded to
the oxygen via a
shared pair of
electrons.
Recall
What is electronegativity????
chemical property that describes the ability
of an atom (or, more rarely, a functional
group) to attract electrons (or electron
density) towards itself
Looking at water, which element has a
higher electronegativity?
OXYGEN
Since oxygen has a higher electronegativity
than hydrogen, the electrons of the
molecule tend to group closer to the
oxygen than to the hydrogen atoms. This
means that even though the molecule as a
whole is neutral, the oxygen side has a
slight negative charge while the hydrogen
side has a slight positive charge.