Question

Use the simulation () to perform the following exercises for a real molecule. You may need to rotate the molecules in three dimensions to see certain dipoles.

(a) Sketch the bond dipoles and molecular dipole (if any) for O₃. Explain your observations.
(b) Look at the bond dipoles for NH₃. Use these dipoles to predict whether N or H is more electronegative.
(c) Predict whether there should be a molecular dipole for NH₃ and, if so, in which direction it will point. Check the molecular dipole box to test your hypothesis.

Answer 1

Ozone (O3) has a molecular dipole moment directed towards one of the oxygen atoms with a lone pair, and ammonia (NH3) has a molecular dipole pointing towards the more electronegative nitrogen atom.

Step-by-step explanation:

For O3 (ozone), the molecule has a bent structure, giving it a molecular dipole moment. Each O-O bond has a bond dipole due to the difference in electronegativity between the two oxygen atoms in each bond, and the overall molecular dipole results from the vector addition of these bond dipoles.

In the case of NH3 (ammonia), nitrogen is more electronegative than hydrogen, so the bond dipoles point towards the nitrogen atom. NH3 has a trigonal pyramidal geometry, and the summation of the bond dipoles results in a net molecular dipole pointing away from the hydrogen atoms and towards the nitrogen atom.