Name: Date:

Student Exploration: Polarity and Intermolecular Forces

Directions: Follow the instructions to go through the simulation. Respond to the questions and
prompts in the orange boxes.

Vocabulary: dipole, dipole-dipole force, dipole-induced dipole force, electronegativity, intermolecular force,
ionic bond, London dispersion force, molecule, nonpolar, nonpolar covalent bond, partial charges, polar, polar
covalent bond, valence electron

Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.)

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1. A big bully is having a tug-of-war with a small child. There is a ball

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attached to the middle of the rope.

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Toward whom will the ball move?

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him.
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2. Two equally strong kids are having a tug-of-war. What do you expect to happen to the ball in this situation?
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The ball will remain stationary since the two boys are excreting an equal amount of force
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from each side.

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Gizmo Warm-up
Just like in a tug-of-war, atoms that are bonded to one another pull on the electrons
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they share. In the Polarity and Intermolecular Forces Gizmo, you will explore how
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these opposing forces relate to bond types and the forces between molecules.

To begin, drag the Na (sodium) and Cl (chlorine) atoms into the simulation area.
Turn on Show valence electrons. A valence electron is found in the outermost
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energy level of the atom.

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1. Click Play ( ). What do you notice?

An electron was shared between the sodium atom and the chlorine atom which formed
an ionic bond.

2. Which atom seems to be pulling more on the sodium’s one valence electron? How do you know?

The Chlorine is pulling on the Sodium. It is doing this because Sodium has the one
electron chlorine needs to become stable.

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 3. What happens to the colors of the simulated atoms, and what does this indicate?

The sodium atom turns blue and the chlorine atom turns red. The red color represents a
negative charge, and the blue represents a positive charge.

Get the Gizmo ready:

Activity A:
● On the BOND POLARITY tab, click Reset ( ).
Bond polarity
● Drag the atoms out of the simulation area.

Introduction: A neutral atom has the same number of protons as electrons. Atoms that gain electrons become
negatively charged, while those that lose electrons become positive. A polar bond forms when shared
electrons are pulled closer to one atom than another, causing the bonded atoms to become partially charged.
In a nonpolar bond, electrons are shared equally.

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Question: What causes bonds to be polar or nonpolar?

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1. Observe: Select the Show polar molecule inset checkbox. The animation shows the probable location of

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electrons (orange dots) in a polar molecule.

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A.
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What do you notice about the
distribution of the electrons?
The elections are closer to the atom on the left and are
denser.
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B. How does this electron distribution Due to the fact that they are attracted the atom with the
affect the charges of the bonded higher electronegativity the atom holds onto the elections
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atoms? more, causing it to be negatively charged.

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2. Observe: Turn on the Show nonpolar molecule inset.

A. How are the electrons in this The electrons are distributed evenly across the atoms.
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molecule distributed?
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B. Why do the bonded atoms remain Since the electronegativity is the same, they cancel each
neutral? other out. Neither is stronger. This results in a neutral
charge.
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3. Experiment: Turn off Show polar molecule inset and Show nonpolar molecule inset. Check that Show
valence electrons is turned on. Drag the Mg and O atoms into the simulation area. Click Play. Note the
colors. Red indicates a negative charge, while blue indicates a positive charge.

A. What type of bond forms? Ionic

B. Try several other metal/nonmetal combinations. What do you notice about the valence electrons?

The valence electrons are transferred to the non-metal to become a full stable orbit and it
becomes negatively charged.

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 Ionic bonds are polar bonds that form between metal and nonmetal atoms. In this bond, valence electrons
are transferred from a metal to a nonmetal. Drag each of these metal/nonmetal combinations into
the Ionic bond bin on the upper right.

4. Experiment: Now try forming bonds between C and Cl.

A. What do you notice? Electrons from chlorine and carbon are being shared.

B. Are all of these bonds polar? Yes because of the electronegativity difference as it falls
Explain. under the EN difference of being less then 1.67 but
greater then 0.4. Since all of the chlorine atoms are
distributed symmetrically the effects of the charges will
cancel resulting in a nonpolar bond.

C. Which nonmetal attracts electrons Oxygen because of his high electronegativity.

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the most?

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5. Experiment: Turn on Show electronegativity. Electronegativity (EN) describes how strongly an atom

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attracts a pair of shared electrons. The higher the EN value, the greater the tendency of an atom to hold

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onto electrons in a bond and become negatively charged. Electronegativity difference is found by
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subtracting the EN value of one atom from another.
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Choose C and H. Click Play.

What happens to the shared electrons in this bond?

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The amount of attraction between each atom is the same causing it to cancel out. This
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makes it neutral (non-polar)

When the shared electrons experience the same attraction from each atom, the result is a nonpolar
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covalent bond. Drag the bonded atoms to the Nonpolar covalent bond bin.
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6. Experiment: Choose N and H. Click Play.

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What happens to the valence electrons in this bond?

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Since the valence electrons in hydrogen were weaker the nitrogen force attracts the
shared electrons. The force of the atoms is unequal.

A bond in which the electrons are shared unequally is a polar covalent bond. Notice the small δ+ and δ–
symbols, which indicate partial charges. Drag the resulting combination to the Polar covalent bond bin.

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 7. Classify the following element combinations as forming either ionic, polar covalent, or nonpolar covalent
bonds.
A. N and N
Non-Polar

B. O and C
Polar

C. K and Cl
Ionic

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Activity B: Get the Gizmo ready:

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Molecular polarity ● Select the MOLECULAR POLARITY tab.

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Introduction: Ionic bonds, like those found in NaCl, form crystalline solids. Covalent bonds, on the other hand,
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usually form discrete molecules. A polar molecule, while neutral overall, has a slight positive charge on one
end and a slight negative charge on the other.

Question: What determines the polarity of molecules?

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1. Observe: Notice that the molecules containing polar covalent bonds are grouped together at lower left, and
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the molecules containing nonpolar covalent bonds are at lower right. Drag the H2O molecule into the
simulation area.
A. Are the individual bonds in this molecule polar or nonpolar?
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Polar

B. Click Turn on electric field. What do you notice?

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The positive end is attracted to the negative end.

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C. The electric field consists of a positively charged plate on one side and a negatively charged plate
on the opposite side. Which side of the H2O molecule is attracted to the positive plate, and why do
you think this attraction occurs?

The negative side of the H2O is attracted to the positive plate of the electrical
field. This is because opposites attract if you had tried to put the positive side of
the molecule towards the positive plate of the electrical field it would repel.

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 D. Click Reverse field. Why does the H2O molecule rotate 180°?

Since the molecule is not symmetrical the oxygen atom on the outside is
attracted to the opposite side of the plate, causing the rotation.

A polar molecule, such as H2O, changes its orientation when placed in an electric field. The positive
end of the molecule is attracted to the negative plate, while the negative end is attracted to the
positive plate. Drag this molecule into the Polar bin.

2. Explain: Drag the CO2 molecule into the simulation area.

A. Does this molecule contain polar or It contains polar bonds.

nonpolar bonds?

B. Turn on the electric field. Why do you Since the partial negative charge surrounds carbon the

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think the molecule does not rotate in molecule is symmetrical.

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this field?

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If a molecule is symmetrical, the effect of the partial charges on either side cancel out. In this case,

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even though it contains polar bonds, the molecule as a whole may be nonpolar.
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C. What other nonpolar molecule Carbon tetrachloride has polar bonds, but its entire
contains polar bonds? molecule is nonpolar because of the symmetrical
arrangements of the chlorine atoms around the carbon
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atoms.
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3. Challenge: An example of a polar molecule that contains nonpolar bonds is NCl3. Drag this molecule into
the simulation area.
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A. Turn on Show valence electrons. The nitrogen atom is positively charged. The chlorine
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What do you notice at the very top of atom is negatively charged which causes them to be
the nitrogen atom, and how does this shared unequally. This is a polar molecule as it is
feature explain why the molecule is asymmetrical.
polar?
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Activity C:
Get the Gizmo ready:
Intermolecular
● Select the INTERMOLECULAR FORCES tab.
forces

Introduction: The polarity of molecules give rise to the forces that act between them. These intermolecular
forces, or IMFs, affect many physical properties including boiling point, solubility, viscosity, and surface
tension.

Question: How does polarity affect the forces between molecules?

1. Observe: Select the Show polar molecules inset checkbox. What do you notice?
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 It is formed by an attraction from one side of positive and the other side being negative.

Each polar molecule is known as a dipole. The attraction between the positive end of one dipole and the
negative end of another is called a dipole-dipole force.

2. Experiment: Turn off Show polar molecule inset and Show nonpolar molecule inset. Drag two H2O
molecules into the simulation area, and click Play. Click Pause ( ) when you see a bond form between
molecules.

Why is a hydrogen atom in one H2O molecule attracted to the oxygen atom in an adjacent H2O molecule?

Since water has bent shape molecules and oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen,
oxygen will have a more partial negative charge as opposed to hydrogen which will have
the partial positive charge. This causes the oxygen and hydrogen atom to be attracted to

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one another.

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Which type of intermolecular force causes attraction between H2O molecules?

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This type of inter molecular force is caused by hydrogen bonding which is a unique type of
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dipole force. It is also the strongest of the three intermolecular forces. This bonding only
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occurs between special types of atoms (i.e., hydrogen). It bonds with only oxygen, nitrogen,
and fluorine and the positive end of hydrogen is attached to the negative side of either of
those three atoms.
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