Polarity of Certain Compounds

[anoushka_r]

While going over the textbook problems, I noticed that CH2Cl2 would be considered polar. Why is this, considering that it's symmetrical? I thought that the negative dipole on the two chlorines would cancel out if they were on opposite ends of each other.

[lillianevans3E]

CH2Cl2 is polar because of the difference in electronegativity between chlorine and hydrogen. Although the shape is tetrahedral, there are still dipole moments that are clear when you look at the lewis structure.