alleryStart learning →In a molecule of hydrogen chloride, which atom carries the partial negative charge?
AThe hydrogen atom
BThe chlorine atom
CNeither atom does
DBoth atoms do
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. The chlorine atom
1. Chlorine attracts bonding electrons more strongly than hydrogen does.
2. The shared pair therefore spends more time near the chlorine nucleus.
3. Extra electron density on chlorine gives it the partial negative charge.
4. Hydrogen is left short of electron density, so it takes the partial positive charge.
_Source: OpenStax Chemistry (CC BY 4.0), Chs 7 and 17, section 7.2 Covalent Bonding_
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