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Exercises · 11.15

Q.If B–Cl bond has a dipole moment, explain why BCl3 molecule has zero dipole moment.

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Step 1 - Each bond is polar

A bond dipole moment is a vector quantity, with both magnitude and direction, pointing (by convention) from the less electronegative atom to the more electronegative one. Cl is more electronegative than B, so each B-Cl bond does have a nonzero dipole moment directed from B toward Cl.

Step 2 - Molecular dipole is a vector sum

The overall (molecular) dipole moment of a molecule is the VECTOR SUM of all its individual bond dipole moments - it is not simply the presence of polar bonds that determines whether the whole molecule is polar, but how those bond dipoles are oriented relative to one another.

Step 3 - Symmetry of BCl3 …

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