Question

Of the molecules below, only ________ is polar.a. SiCl4 b. CH4 c. CCl4 d. SeF4

Answer 1

Only SeF4 is polar due to its asymmetrical seesaw shape and the presence of a lone pair on selenium, while CH4, SiCl4, and CCl4 are symmetrical and nonpolar.

Step-by-step explanation:

Of the molecules CH4, SiCl4, CCl4, and SeF4, only SeF4 is polar. The molecule SeF4 has a seesaw shape due to the presence of one lone pair on the selenium atom, making it asymmetrical and leading to a net dipole moment. In contrast, CH4, SiCl4, and CCl4 are all symmetrical and therefore nonpolar, with CH4 and SiCl4 having tetrahedral shapes and CCl4 having a similar shape but with chlorine atoms. Nonpolar molecules experience only dispersion forces, and their physical properties such as boiling points will depend on the molar masses and the strength of these dispersion forces. Conversely, the polarity of SeF4 allows it experience dipole-dipole attractions in addition to dispersion forces.

Answer 2

SeF4 is a polar molecule

Step-by-step explanation:

SeF4 is a polar molecule because a polar molecule is any molecule that have lone pairs of electrons in the central atom or have atoms that are electronegative and the electrons between that are covalently bonded are not evenly distributed.

The electronegative atoms of flourine in SeF4 are not evenly distributed and kind pairs of electrons are on the central atom.