What Is Polarity? Definition, Meaning, Applications, Importance And Examples!

What Is Polarity? Definition And Meaning: Polarity is the distribution of an electrical charge among the atoms connected by a chemical bond. 

Breakdown Of The Key Aspects Of Polarity

• Polarity: Polarity arises due to the differences in electronegativity between the atoms that make up a molecule. 
• Unequal Sharing Of Electrons: When two atoms bond together with different electronegativity, then they don’t share the electrons equally. 
• Polar Bonds And Dipole Moments: It is the unequal sharing of electrons that creates the polar covalent bonds. These bonds are said to have a dipole moment. 

Polarity, in general, refers to the boiling points, melting points and their solubilities. It is the distribution of the electrical charge among the atoms that are connected by the chemical bond. Since the hydrogen atoms in H2 are electrically neutral, the bonds between atoms of different elements are electrically inequivalent, as opposed to the bonds that are present between the identical, atoms that are electrically uniform. 

Talking about Polarity in chemistry is the separation of an electrical charge that leads the molecule to have a positive and negative end. 

Consider an example: 

In an H-F bond, the fluorine is more electronegative than the hydrogen atom as the electrons spend more time at the fluorine atom. So, the hydrogen atom becomes positive and the fluorine atoms tend to become negative. 

Polarity Of Molecules

The polarity of molecules depends upon the electronegativities of the atoms or the molecules. Let's discuss polar and non-polar molecules. 

Polar Molecules: A molecule in which the individual dipoles do not cancel each other and result in a simple dipole moment is called a polar molecule. 

Non-polar molecules: A molecule in which the individual dipoles cancel each other and they result in a zero dipole moment, then it is called a non-polar molecule. 

We are also creating a table to give you the basic difference between the two. 

Importance Of Polarity

Understanding polarity is essential in many fields of science, some of these are discussed below: 

• Biochemistry: Polarity is important for the function of biological molecules like proteins and DNA, which rely on interaction with polar water molecules. 
• Pharmaceutical Science: Understanding the polarity of drugs in medicines helps with their interaction with the human body. 
• Material Science: Well, polarity is common in designing materials with specific properties like adhesion. 

Applications Of Polarity

Polarity plays an important in various phenomena like: 

• Solubility: Polar molecules tend to dissolve well with other polar solvents as they have favourable interactions between their dipoles. 
• Chemical Reactions: Polarity can also influence the rates and mechanisms of all the chemical reactions. 
• Intermolecular Forces: Polar molecules can attract each other with the help of interactions like dipole-dipole interactions. These forces can influence the properties like melting point and boiling points. 

Examples Of Polar And Non-Polar Molecules

• Polar Molecules: Water (H2O), Ethanol (C2H5OH), Ammonia (NH3)
• Non-polar molecules: Benzene (C6H6), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4)

By understanding polarity, students can predict and explain various chemical behaviours in the branch of chemistry, making it a fundamental concept. Students can easily prepare notes on this topic to score well on the exam. 

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