Question

The charge associated with each side of an HF molecule is 6.93 ×10⁻² °C. The charge on a single electron is 1.60 x 10⁻¹ ¹C. How do you find percent ionic character, and what does the value mean?

Answer 1

The percent ionic character of a covalent bond in a molecule can be found by dividing the actual charge on the atoms by the charge of a single electron. This value represents the extent to which a covalent bond behaves like an ionic bond.

Step-by-step explanation:

The percent ionic character of a covalent bond in a molecule can be found by dividing the actual charge on the atoms by the charge of a single electron. In the case of HF, the charge on each side of the molecule is given as 6.93 ×10⁻² C. The charge on a single electron is 1.60 x 10⁻¹ ¹C. Dividing these values, we can find the percent ionic character.

The percent ionic character represents the extent to which a covalent bond in a molecule behaves like an ionic bond. A 100% ionic bond means the electrons are completely transferred from one atom to the other, while a 0% ionic bond means the electrons are equally shared between the atoms. By calculating the percent ionic character, we can determine the degree of electron transfer in the covalent bond of a molecule.