{"id":42246,"date":"2025-10-17T10:43:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-17T15:43:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/?p=42246"},"modified":"2026-01-22T09:10:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T15:10:28","slug":"dipole-moments-and-dipoles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/2025\/10\/17\/dipole-moments-and-dipoles\/","title":{"rendered":"Dipole Moments and Dipoles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Dipole Moments<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>After reading this article and doing the quizzes at the bottom, you should be able to<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Apply electronegativity to identify <strong>covalent<\/strong> and <strong>polar covalent<\/strong> bonds<\/li>\n<li>Rank similar molecules according to magnitude of <strong>dipole moment<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Understand how <strong>geometry affects dipole momen<\/strong>t in <strong>bent<\/strong>, trigonal planar, trigonal pyramidal and tetrahedral molecules<\/li>\n<li>Predict the effect of dipole moments on <strong>boiling points<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42265\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0-Summary-Dipoles-and-dipole-moments-dipoles-are-opposite-adjacent-partial-charges-caused-by-differences-in-electronegativity-revised.gif\" alt=\"Summary-Dipoles and dipole moments-dipoles are opposite adjacent partial charges caused by differences in electronegativity-revised\" width=\"640\" height=\"665\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Table of Contents<\/strong><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"#one\">Dipole Moment In Molecules With One Polar Covalent Bond<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#two\">In Molecules With One Bond, The Dipole of the Bond is The Dipole Moment<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#three\">Dipoles In Bonds To Carbon<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#four\">How Geometry Affects Dipole Moment: BeCl2 And Linear Geometry\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#five\">H2O And &#8220;Bent&#8221; Geometry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#six\">BF3 and Trigonal Planar Geometry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#seven\">NH3 and Trigonal Pyramidal Geometry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#eight\">Tetrahedral Geometry and Dipole Moment<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#nine\">Dipoles and Boiling Point<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#notes\">Notes<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#quizzes\">Quiz Yourself!<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"#references\">(Advanced) References and Further Reading<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\">\n<ol>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none;\"><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><a id=\"one\"><\/a>1. Dipole Moment In Molecules With One Polar Covalent Bond<\/h2>\n<p>In a\u00a0<strong>polar covalent bond<\/strong>, two atoms with vastly different electronegativities (&gt;0.4) share a pair of bonding electrons.<\/p>\n<p>Probably the simplest examples are the hydrogen halides HF, HCl, and HBr. In these molecules, we have a highly electronegative element (F, Cl, Br) sharing a pair of electrons with a much less electronegative element (H).<\/p>\n<p>In <em>theory<\/em>, the bonding electrons are &#8220;shared&#8221; equally, since we count one electron from each covalent bond as &#8220;belonging&#8221; to that atom for the purposes of calculating formal charge.<\/p>\n<p>In <em>practice<\/em>, the more electronegative element pulls\u00a0<strong>an unequal share\u00a0<\/strong>of the shared electron pair towards it.\u00a0 (<span style=\"color: #993366;\"><em>It&#8217;s like when Mom tells two brothers to &#8220;share&#8221; a bag of chips; the older, bigger brother will inevitably get more than his fair share.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Since electrons bear a negative charge, the result is that the more electronegative element will bear a\u00a0<strong>partial negative charge<\/strong>, and the less electronegative element will bear a\u00a0<strong>partial positive\u00a0<\/strong>charge since it has a deficit of electron density.<\/p>\n<p>These adjacent, opposite partial charges are known as <strong>dipoles.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42247\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1-what-are-dipoles-opposite-adjacent-partial-charges-due-to-electronegativity-differences-between-atoms.gif\" alt=\"what are dipoles - opposite adjacent partial charges due to electronegativity differences between atoms\" width=\"640\" height=\"518\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The strength of a\u00a0<strong>molecule&#8217;s\u00a0<\/strong>dipole can be measured experimentally and is known as a\u00a0<strong>dipole moment. <\/strong> <span style=\"color: #993366;\"><em>(The unit of dipole moment is the DeBye, D )<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>For example, the dipole moments of the hydrogen halides have all been measured experimentally.<\/p>\n<p>In simple diatomic molecules like HF, HCl, and HBr, the strength of the dipole in the molecule is equal to the strength of dipole in the bond.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wq-quiz-wrapper\" data-id=\"42260\"><style type=\"text\/css\" id=\"wq-flip-custom-css\">.wq-quiz-wrapper[data-id=\"42260\"] {\n--wq-question-width: 100%;\n--wq-question-color: #009cff;\n--wq-question-height: auto;\n--wq-font-color: #444;\n}\n\n\t\t\t.wq-quiz-wrapper[data-id=\"42260\"] {\n\t\t\t\t--wq-question-width: 600px;\n\t\t\t}\n\n\t\t\t@media screen and (max-width: 600px) {\n\t\t\t\t.wq-quiz-wrapper[data-id=\"42260\"] .wq_singleQuestionWrapper { width:100% !important; height:auto !important; }\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t<\/style><!-- wp quiz -->\n<div id=\"wp-quiz-42260\" class=\"wq_quizCtr single flip_quiz wq-quiz wq-quiz-42260 wq-quiz-flip wq-layout-single wq-skin-traditional wq-should-show-correct-answer\" data-quiz-id=\"42260\">\n<div class=\"wq-questions wq_questionsCtr\">\n\t<div class=\"wq-question wq_singleQuestionWrapper wq-question-08tba\" data-id=\"08tba\">\n\n\t\n\t<div class=\"item_top\">\n\t\t<div class=\"title_container\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wq_questionTextCtr\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"wq-question-title\"><\/h4>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t<div class=\"card \">\n\t\t<div class=\"front\" >\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-images\/3461-Front.gif\" \/>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\t<span class=\"top-desc\">Click to Flip<\/span>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"back\" >\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-images\/3461-Reverse.gif\" \/>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/\/ wp quiz-->\n<\/div><!-- End .wq-quiz-wrapper -->\n<p>In larger molecules, geometry can result in some dipoles being cancelled out, as we shall see shortly.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"two\"><\/a>2. In Molecules With One Bond, The Dipole of the Bond is The Dipole Moment<\/h2>\n<p>At the other end of the spectrum are purely\u00a0<strong>covalent bonds\u00a0<\/strong>such as those found in\u00a0 Cl<sub>2<\/sub>, Br<sub>2<\/sub>, and N<sub>2<\/sub>.<\/p>\n<p>In these cases both atoms have equal electronegativities. Like two completely even teams in a tug-o&#8217;-war, the forces are completely balanced.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42248\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/3-in-diatomic-molecules-between-identical-atoms-dipoles-completely-balance-and-there-will-be-no-dipole-moment.gif\" alt=\"-in diatomic molecules between identical atoms dipoles completely balance and there will be no dipole moment\" width=\"640\" height=\"271\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>These diatomic molecules have an overall dipole moment of <strong>zero<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"three\"><\/a>3. Dipoles In Bonds To Carbon<\/h2>\n<p>Since this is an organic chemistry course, you probably could have guessed where this is going. We&#8217;re going to talk a lot about bonds to carbon!<\/p>\n<p>There are no diatomic <em>molecules<\/em> of carbon to talk about, so we&#8217;re just going to zoom out for a second and talk about the bonds.<\/p>\n<p>In a C-H bond there is a small dipole. Being more electronegative, the carbon (2.5) is slightly electron rich (\u03b4-) and the hydrogen (2.2)\u00a0 is slightly electron poor (\u03b4+).<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s good to file away in your brain the fact that carbon is somewhat electron-rich when connected to H because we will use that later (<span style=\"color: #993366;\"><em><a style=\"color: #993366;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/2011\/03\/11\/3-factors-that-stabilize-carbocations\/\">See Article: 3 Factors That Stabilize Carbocations<\/a><\/em><\/span>).<\/p>\n<p>But for now, we typically classify C-H bonds as\u00a0<strong>covalent\u00a0<\/strong>(rather than polar covalent) because\u00a0<strong>hydrocarbons <\/strong>(i.e. molecules just composed of carbon and hydrogen) are very\u00a0<strong>non-polar<\/strong>, in that they do not mix very well with polar\u00a0solvents like water.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42257\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/4-C-H-bonds-have-only-a-small-dipole-because-of-small-electronegativity-difference.gif\" alt=\"C-H bonds have only a small dipole because of small electronegativity difference\" width=\"640\" height=\"319\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If we replace a C-H bond with a C-N or C-O bond, a dipole also results. But notice in this instance that the polarity is flipped: due to the greater electronegativity of oxygen and nitrogen relative to carbon, the <strong>carbon<\/strong> is <strong>electron-poor<\/strong> (\u03b4 +) and the other atom is <strong>electron-rich<\/strong> (\u03b4 &#8211; ). This will also have important consequences, as we shall see shortly!<\/p>\n<p>Bonds between carbon and highly electronegative elements tend to be classified as\u00a0<strong>polar covalent\u00a0<\/strong>bonds.<\/p>\n<p>results in a large enough dipole that molecules start to have some polar properties. For that reason bonds between carbon and highly electronegative elements fall into the realm of <strong>polar covalent\u00a0<\/strong>bonds.<\/p>\n<p>Note in these cases that carbon goes from being partially electron-rich (\u03b4-)\u00a0 to partially electron-poor (\u03b4+)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42249\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/5-in-C-O-C-N-and-C-Cl-bonds-there-are-significant-electronegativity-differences-and-significant-dipoles.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"339\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"four\"><\/a>4. How Geometry Affects Dipole Moment: BeCl2 And Linear Geometry<\/h2>\n<p>Individual\u00a0<strong>bonds\u00a0<\/strong>have dipoles. But whether a molecule has a\u00a0<strong>dipole moment\u00a0<\/strong>is a function of its geometry.<\/p>\n<p>When a molecule has just one bond, it&#8217;s simple to visualize its dipole moment.<\/p>\n<p>Once we move beyond diatomic molecules, we need to start considering how the\u00a0<strong>sum\u00a0<\/strong>of the individual dipoles (which are vectors, by the way) is affected by their arrangement in the molecule, i.e. their <strong>geometry<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take BeCl<sub>2<\/sub>, for instance. Linear molecule. Cl is very electronegative [3.2], and Be is very&#8230; non-electronegative [1.7].\u00a0 So each Be\u2013Cl bond should have a large dipole where Cl sucks electrons away from beryllium.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42250\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/6-beryllium-dichloride-becl2-has-no-dipole-moment-because-dipoles-cancel-out.gif\" alt=\"beryllium dichloride becl2 has no dipole moment because dipoles cancel out\" width=\"640\" height=\"382\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The overall dipole moment of BeCl<sub>2<\/sub> has been measured, and it is <strong>zero<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Why?<\/p>\n<p>What happens here is that the two dipoles act in <strong>equal and opposite directions\u00a0<\/strong>and therefore cancel each other out.<\/p>\n<p>This is a good lesson. A molecule can have large\u00a0<strong>individual\u00a0<\/strong>dipoles and have\u00a0<strong>no overall dipole moment\u00a0<\/strong>if the forces act in equal and opposite directions. We will be seeing much more of this!<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993366;\"><em>What about a molecule like BeFCl ?\u00a0 Will it have a dipole moment? What do you think? <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"five\"><\/a>5. H2O and &#8220;Bent&#8221; Geometry<\/h2>\n<p>What about water? As soon as we learn the formula of water is H<sub>2<\/sub>O, the first assumption every kid makes is that it&#8217;s linear.<\/p>\n<p>But it ain&#8217;t.\u00a0 <strong>How do we know?<\/strong> <span style=\"color: #993366;\"><em>It&#8217;s not like we can go in with a little microscope or something and pull out a tiny protractor to measure the angle.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Because if it was linear, it would have a dipole moment of zero, like BeCl<sub>2<\/sub>. But we can measure the dipole moment and it&#8217;s 2.9 D <em><span style=\"color: #993366;\">(in the liquid phase, 1.85 in the gas &#8211;<\/span> <a href=\"#refone\">reference<\/a>)<\/em>. That&#8217;s a pretty big number! So clearly it ain&#8217;t linear. Something else is going on.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42251\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/7-water-has-a-dipole-moment-because-molecule-is-bent-and-ther-is-large-electronegativity-difference.gif\" alt=\"water has a dipole moment because molecule is bent and ther is large electronegativity difference\" width=\"640\" height=\"467\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We now know that the &#8220;something else&#8221; is that there are two lone pairs on oxygen in addition to the two bonding pairs in the O-H bonds, and all four electron pairs repel each other. Repulsion is minimized in a tetrahedral geometry, but since the lone pairs take up a little more space the H-O-H angle is about 104.5\u00b0 instead of 109.5\u00b0.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42252\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/8-in-hydrogen-bonding-there-is-very-large-difference-in-electronegativity-between-O-and-H-strong-intermolecular-forces.gif\" alt=\"in hydrogen bonding there is very large difference in electronegativity between O and H strong intermolecular forces\" width=\"640\" height=\"251\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"six\"><\/a>6. BF3 And Trigonal Planar Geometry<\/h2>\n<p>Moving up to three bonds around a central atom, let&#8217;s start with the\u00a0<strong>trigonal planar\u00a0<\/strong>geometry, where all three groups are arranged around a central atom with bond angles of 120\u00b0.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s take BF<sub>3<\/sub>, for example. What do you think? Dipole moment or no?<\/p>\n<p>Fluorine is very electronegative [4.0], boron is very electropositive [2.0]. So we have three bond dipoles that point from B to F.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42253\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/9-geometry-of-bf3-boron-trifluoride-is-trigonal-planar-and-there-is-no-dipole-moment.gif\" alt=\"geometry of bf3 boron trifluoride is trigonal planar and there is no dipole moment\" width=\"640\" height=\"329\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Just like with BeCl<sub>2<\/sub>, the vector sum results in cancelation. No dipole moment.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #993366;\"><em>At the bottom of the article are some quizzes on the dipole moments of alkenes (olefins).\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"seven\"><\/a>7. NH3 Trigonal Pyramidal Geometry<\/h2>\n<p>Next up is\u00a0<strong>trigonal pyramidal <\/strong>geometry, such as that found in NH<sub>3<\/sub>.<\/p>\n<p>Hydrogen has an electronegativity of 2.2, nitrogen has an electronegativity of 3.0, so we can immediately see that the bonds should be polarized toward nitrogen (\u03b4-) and away from hydrogen (\u03b4+).<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42254\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/10-geometry-of-NH3-is-trigonal-pyramidal-and-there-is-dipole-moment-hydrogen-bonding.gif\" alt=\"geometry of NH3 is trigonal pyramidal and there is dipole moment hydrogen bonding\" width=\"640\" height=\"303\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Nitrogen has four electron pair domains (3 in the N-H bonds, and one lone pair) that are arranged in a roughly tetrahedral geometry to minimize electron pair repulsion.<\/p>\n<p>The three N-H dipole vectors all point up toward nitrogen. When you add these three vectors up you get a molecular dipole moment that points straight up along the\u00a0<em>z<\/em>-axis.<\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"eight\"><\/a>8. Tetrahedral Geometry and Dipole Moment<\/h2>\n<p>Here&#8217;s where things get real: dipole moments in tetrahedral carbon atoms.<\/p>\n<p>Now first off: don&#8217;t get stressed out about it. Nobody&#8217;s going to ask\u00a0 you to <strong>calculate\u00a0<\/strong>a dipole moment <span style=\"color: #993366;\"><em>(unless you happen to be in a computational chemistry class, in which case, why are you even reading this)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>However, you could reasonably be expected to <strong>identify<\/strong> if one is present or not. That&#8217;s important. We&#8217;ll walk through this.<\/p>\n<p>The principles are exactly the same as those we just discussed:\u00a0First, look for bond dipoles, and second, see if they&#8217;re balanced.<\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s first look at\u00a0<strong>methane\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0<strong>carbon tetrachloride<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42255\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/11-in-methane-CH4-and-carbon-tetrachloride-CCl4-geometry-is-tetrahedral-and-all-dipoles-cancel-out.gif\" alt=\"in methane CH4 and carbon tetrachloride CCl4 geometry is tetrahedral and all dipoles cancel out\" width=\"640\" height=\"437\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>C-H bonds have a weak dipole polarized towards carbon (carbon is \u03b4-) and C-Cl bonds have a relatively strong dipole polarized toward chlorine (chlorine is \u03b4-)<\/p>\n<p>In both cases the overall dipole moment is\u00a0<strong>zero<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>because all the vectors cancel.<\/p>\n<p>What happens when all bonds *aren&#8217;t* identical?<\/p>\n<p>For example, let&#8217;s take CCl4 and swap out one of the C-Cl bonds for a C-H bond. (This molecule is called chloroform).<\/p>\n<p>In doing so, we&#8217;ve replaced a bond dipole pointing towards chlorine with a bond dipole that points in the opposite direction.<\/p>\n<p>This\u00a0means that the dipoles will no longer be in balance, and the molecule will have a net dipole moment.<\/p>\n<p>In CHCl<sub>3<\/sub> the experimentally observed dipole moment is 1.15 D.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42266\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/12-in-chloroform-chcl3-all-charges-do-not-cancel-and-there-is-small-net-dipole-of-115-D.gif\" alt=\"-in chloroform chcl3 all charges do not cancel and there is small net dipole of 115 D\" width=\"640\" height=\"319\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><a id=\"nine\"><\/a>9. Dipole Moment And Boiling Point<\/h2>\n<p>Dipoles can also have a large effect on the physical properties of a molecule, particularly its liquid state.<\/p>\n<p>In a liquid, oppositely charged partial charges\u00a0<strong>attract\u00a0<\/strong>each other. These attractions between partial charges are a type of\u00a0<strong>intermolecular force<\/strong>. Generally speaking, the higher the intermolecular forces, the higher the <strong>boiling point<\/strong>, since it will take more energy to separate the molecules.<\/p>\n<p>When one of the dipoles is an O-H, N-H, or F-H bond, we call these dipole-dipole interactions\u00a0<strong>hydrogen bonding.\u00a0<\/strong>Hydrogen bonds are particularly strong intermolecular forces, and are typically about 5-10% of the strength of normal covalent bonds <span style=\"color: #993366;\"><em>(the hydrogen bond in water has been measured to have a strength of about 5 kcal\/mol) .\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Attractions between dipoles that don&#8217;t involve hydrogen are typically called, &#8220;dipole-dipole&#8221; interactions, (or Van Der Waals dipole-dipole interactions) and are weaker than hydrogen bonds.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-42263\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/13-transient-attractive-forces-between-dipoles-can-result-in-high-boiling-points.gif\" alt=\"transient attractive forces between dipoles can result in high boiling points\" width=\"640\" height=\"431\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In the absence of a strong dipole, the only attractive forces present in a molecule are typically London or dispersion forces, which are\u00a0<em>temporary<\/em><strong>\u00a0<\/strong>dipoles that result from momentary imbalances in electron deficiency in a molecule. These weaker forces result in considerably lower boiling points.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong><a id=\"notes\"><\/a>Notes<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>[notes]<\/p>\n<div class=\"related-articles\"><p><strong>Related Articles<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/2010\/10\/01\/how-intermolecular-forces-affect-boiling-points\/\" class=\"\"><span>The Four Intermolecular Forces and How They Affect Boiling Points<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/2018\/01\/16\/a-hybridization-shortcut\/\" class=\"\"><span>How To Determine Hybridization: A Shortcut<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/2010\/10\/25\/3-trends-that-affect-boiling-points\/\" class=\"\"><span>3 Trends That Affect Boiling Points<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/2011\/11\/15\/how_to_use_electronegativity\/\" class=\"\"><span>How To Use Electronegativity To Determine Electron Density (and why NOT to trust formal charge)<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/2010\/09\/24\/how-to-calculate-formal-charge\/\" class=\"\"><span>A Key Skill: How to Calculate Formal Charge<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/2018\/01\/19\/hybridization-and-bond-strengths\/\" class=\"\"><span>Orbital Hybridization And Bond Strengths<\/span><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/2017\/10\/10\/hybrid-orbitals\/\" class=\"\"><span>Hybrid Orbitals and Hybridization<\/span><\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><a id=\"quizzes\"><\/a>Quiz Yourself!<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3600-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3462-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3463-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3464-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3465-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3466-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3467-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3468-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3469-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3470-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3471-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n\n<p class=\"p1\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-26714\" src=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/quiz-previews\/3472-Front-Image-Only.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"616\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.masterorganicchemistry.com\/moc-membership\/\"><strong>Become a\u00a0 MOC member<\/strong><\/a> to see the clickable quiz with answers on the back. <\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2><strong><a id=\"references\"><\/a>(Advanced) References and Further Reading<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Some Dipole Moments of Small Molecules<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/cccbdb.nist.gov\/diplistx.asp\">Link<\/a><br \/>\n<\/strong>A list (with references) of the dipole moments of over 100 common small molecules. From CCCBDB, a division of NIST.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a id=\"refone\"><\/a>An Interpretation of the Enhancement of the Water Dipole Moment Due to the Presence of Other Water Molecules<\/strong><br \/>\nDaniel D. Kemp and Mark S. Gordon<br \/>\n<em>The Journal of Physical Chemistry A<\/em> <strong>2008<\/strong> 112 (22), 4885-4894<br \/>\n<strong>DOI<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/pubs.acs.org\/doi\/10.1021\/jp801921f\">10.1021\/jp801921f\u00a0<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dipole Moments After reading this article and doing the quizzes at the bottom, you should be able to Apply electronegativity to identify covalent and polar <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":42265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1406],"tags":[15081,15080,495,199,237],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-42246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bonding-structure-resonance","tag-boiling-point","tag-dipole-moment","tag-dipoles","tag-electronegativity","tag-molecular-geometry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dipole Moments and Dipoles &#8211; Master Organic Chemistry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dipoles are adjacent, opposite, partial charges that arise from differences in electronegativities between bonding atoms. 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