To determine whether the bonds and molecules are polar or nonpolar, we need to analyze both the polarity of the bonds and the overall shape of the molecule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Water (H2O)<\/strong>\n
- \n
- Bond Type<\/strong>: Water has polar covalent bonds. Oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, so the electron density is pulled toward the oxygen atom, creating a dipole.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Shape<\/strong>: The water molecule has a bent shape (due to the lone pairs on oxygen), which results in an overall dipole moment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Polarity<\/strong>: Since the molecule has an uneven distribution of charge due to its bent shape and the polarity of the bonds, water is a polar molecule<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Acetone (CH3COCH3)<\/strong>\n
- \n
- Bond Type<\/strong>: The C\u2013O bond in acetone is polar because oxygen is more electronegative than carbon. The C\u2013C bonds are nonpolar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Shape<\/strong>: Acetone has a trigonal planar shape around the carbonyl group (C=O), and it is symmetrical about this bond.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Polarity<\/strong>: Acetone is a polar molecule<\/strong> because of the polar C\u2013O bond and the asymmetrical distribution of the electron density.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hexane (C6H14)<\/strong>\n
- \n
- Bond Type<\/strong>: All C\u2013C and C\u2013H bonds in hexane are nonpolar because carbon and hydrogen have similar electronegativities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Shape<\/strong>: Hexane is a linear molecule with no significant dipoles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Polarity<\/strong>: Since hexane has only nonpolar bonds and a symmetrical shape, hexane is a nonpolar molecule<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Ethanol (C2H5OH)<\/strong>\n
- \n
- Bond Type<\/strong>: Ethanol has both polar covalent bonds (C\u2013O, O\u2013H) and nonpolar C\u2013C and C\u2013H bonds.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Shape<\/strong>: The ethanol molecule is bent due to the O\u2013H bond, resulting in a dipole moment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Polarity<\/strong>: The polar bonds in ethanol and its bent shape lead to a polar molecule<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Summary:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Water<\/strong> is polar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Acetone<\/strong> is polar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Hexane<\/strong> is nonpolar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Ethanol<\/strong> is polar.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The polarity of each molecule is mainly determined by the nature of the bonds (polar vs nonpolar) and the molecular shape. A symmetrical shape generally results in a nonpolar molecule, while an asymmetrical shape often leads to a polar molecule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/learnexams-banner5-1013.jpeg\")
<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Examining Molecules Polar or Nonpolar Bonds? Shape of the Molecule? Yes Lewis Structure: Water: H2O Structural formula: H-O-H Acetone: CH3COCH3 Structural formula: CH3-CO-CH3 Hexane: C6H14 Structural formula: CH3(CH2)4CH3 Ethanol: C2H5OH Structural formula: CH3CH2OH The Correct Answer and Explanation is: To determine whether the bonds and molecules are polar or nonpolar, we need to analyze both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-247407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-exams-certification"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247407","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247407"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247407\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247407"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247407"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.learnexams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247407"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
- Acetone<\/strong> is polar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Shape<\/strong>: The ethanol molecule is bent due to the O\u2013H bond, resulting in a dipole moment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Shape<\/strong>: Hexane is a linear molecule with no significant dipoles.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Shape<\/strong>: Acetone has a trigonal planar shape around the carbonyl group (C=O), and it is symmetrical about this bond.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Shape<\/strong>: The water molecule has a bent shape (due to the lone pairs on oxygen), which results in an overall dipole moment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Bond Type<\/strong>: Water has polar covalent bonds. Oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, so the electron density is pulled toward the oxygen atom, creating a dipole.<\/li>\n\n\n\n