Polarity

[Stephen Sirmay 1I]

When analyzing a lewis structure of a given compound, what feature most obviously determines whether or not it is polar?

[sophiebillings1E]

The easiest thing to look at is the molecules symmetry. Most of the time if it's symmetrical it will be non polar, but other than symmetry you have to determine the polarity between each bond and then observe the whole molecule.

[Michael Torres 4I]

You can determine whether a molecule is polar based on its symmetry. For example, if you have a trigonal planar structure with BCl3, then you know it will be nonpolar because the partial negative charges of the Cl atoms will be positioned symmetrically in such a manner that they cancel out. On the other hand, if that molecule were BHCl2, then it would be polar since the charges would not cancel each other out.

You should also note that molecules with the same molecular formula but different Lewis structures can end up being polar and nonpolar due to the different positioning of atoms within the molecular structure.

[ThomascnguyenDis1J]

Thank you Michael, this really clarified the topic for me!!