The bond between which two atoms has the greatest degree of polarity in the following molecule?

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1 Answer
Jan 4, 2017

Between the oxygen and the hydrogen......

Explanation:

And how do we assess this? Probably the best metric is by #"electronegativity values"#, for which various scales are available, and which is conceived to be the ability of an atom in a chemical bond to polarize electron density towards itself.

Pauling electronegativity of oxygen is #3.44#, of hydrogen, #2.20#, and of carbon, #2.55#. Given these values, the #C-O# bond is LESS polar, less charge separated, than the #O-H# bond. This makes sense in that we know that the water molecule, which features #O-H# bonds, is a highly polar molecule. Alcohols, which feature #O-H# bonds, generally have some solubility in water.