alleryStart learning →The ease with which a nearby charge can distort a molecule's electron cloud is called its:
AElectronegativity
BIonisation energy
CElectron affinity
DPolarizability
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Polarizability
1. Dispersion forces arise from momentary distortions of an electron cloud.
2. How easily that cloud distorts differs between molecules.
3. The measure of how easy or difficult it is for another electrostatic charge to distort a molecule's charge distribution is known as polarizability.
4. Electronegativity instead measures pull on a shared bonding pair.
_Source: OpenStax Chemistry 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 10 'Liquids and Solids', sections 10.1-10.6_
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