Why is carbon dioxide nonpolar

This is in no way a critique on your answer, I'd just value your opinion on the matter. I was usually interested in the reactivity of a molecule, which usually translates into the reactivity of a bond. So the polarity of a bond is what I would consider. If the hybridization in the bond wasn't symmetrical, then the bond was polarized; the asymmetry of the hybridization told me how polarized.

If you want to know whether a molecule is polar then you have to know the structure which you can look up and worry about why that is the structure in another class. A lot of the properties of water come from this inbalance - including that its normally liquid and has a way higher melting point than carbon-dioxide despite being the lighter molecule by all other means it should be gaseous - because the dipole character allows forming of bridge groupings of water molecules..

Greg E. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Version labels for answers. Linked See more linked questions. Related Hot Network Questions. Question feed. Chemistry Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled.

Accept all cookies Customize settings. The Lewis Structure looks like this: Oxygen is more electronegative than Carbon and the Carbon-Oxygen bond is very polar, however, if we draw the dipole moment from the partially positive Carbon atom to the partially negative Oxygen atom, you'll notice they cancel out.

Related questions How do I determine the molecular shape of a molecule? What is the lewis structure for co2? What is the lewis structure for hcn? How is vsepr used to classify molecules? What are the units used for the ideal gas law? How does Charle's law relate to breathing? What is the ideal gas law constant? The lone pairs on both oxygen atoms cancel each others effect, as simple as that. And the structure is symmetrical from all aspects, which again leads to zero dipole moment.

Plus there is no net negative charge or lone pair of Carbon as well, therefore the compound cannot be polar. Python Javascript Linux Cheat sheet Contact. Chemistry - Why is carbon dioxide nonpolar? Solution 1: so wouldn't it be that you would have an even more positive carbon and 2 partially negative oxygens Yes, your analysis is correct to this point. Solution 2: In understanding molecular polarity you need to take the whole structure into account.

Solution 4: It's like they are at tug-of-war with each other, and they both have the same strength; it's not going anywhere. Solution 5: The lone pairs on both oxygen atoms cancel each others effect, as simple as that. Tags: Polarity. Related Chemistry - Possible structure if a compound like AB4 is polar?