a) because oxygen and carbon have the same electronegativity
b)because its shape is perfectly symmetrical
c) because oxygen and carbon have diff. electronegativity
2006-10-17 16:02:38 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Biology
b)
The dipole moments created by the oxygen molecules cancel each other out because the molecule is symmetrical and linear.
2006-10-17 16:05:44 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I say the answer is B.
CO2 is a linear molecule: O=C=O
Choice A is obviously wrong. There is an electronegativity difference. Note that the most electronegative elements are F O N (aka Full Of Nonsense). O is obviously much more electronegative.
Choice B is correct as the shape is perfectly symmetrical so the dipole moments cancel out each other when you take a vector addition.
Choice C does not explain why CO2 is not polar despite it having atoms which are of different electronegativity.
2006-10-17 23:11:42 · answer #2 · answered by polarIS 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Because oxygen and carbon have similar electronegativities... not the same... similar.
2006-10-17 23:11:03 · answer #3 · answered by Stephanie S 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋