Water

Water’s Polarity

One of water’s important properties is that it is composed of polar molecules: the hydrogen and oxygen within water molecules (H2O) form polar covalent bonds. While there is no net charge to a water molecule, water's polarity creates a slightly positive charge on hydrogen and a slightly negative charge on oxygen, contributing to water’s properties of attraction. Water generates charges because oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, making it more likely that a shared electron would be near the oxygen nucleus than the hydrogen nucleus, thus generating the partial negative charge near the oxygen.

As a result of water’s polarity, each water molecule attracts other water molecules because of the opposite charges between water molecules, forming hydrogen bonds. Water also attracts or is attracted to other polar molecules and ions. We call a polar substance that interacts readily with or dissolves in water hydrophilic (hydro- = “water”; -philic = “loving”). In contrast, nonpolar molecules such as oils and fats do not interact well with water, as Figure shows. A good example of this is vinegar and oil salad dressing (an acidic water solution). We call such nonpolar compounds hydrophobic (hydro- = “water”; -phobic = “fearing”).

Image shows oil droplets floating in water. The oil droplets act like prisms that bend the light into all the colors of the rainbow.
Oil and water do not mix. As this macro image of oil and water shows, oil does not dissolve in water but forms droplets instead. This is because it is a nonpolar compound. (credit: Gautam Dogra).
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