(a) What is depoole moment ?
(b) What are the units of dipole moment ?
(i) Dipole moment values help in prediciting the shapes of covalent molecules. Explain.

Answer

### Step-by-Step Text Solution

#### (a) What is Dipole Moment?
The dipole moment is a measure of the separation of positive and negative charges in a molecule. It is defined as the product of the magnitude of the charge (q) and the distance (d) between the centers of positive and negative charges. Mathematically, it can be expressed as:

\[ \text{Dipole Moment} (\mu) = q \times d \]

Where:
- \( \mu \) is the dipole moment.
- \( q \) is the magnitude of the charge.
- \( d \) is the distance between the charges.

The dipole moment is a vector quantity, which means it has both magnitude and direction. The direction of the dipole moment is from the negative charge to the positive charge.

#### (b) What are the Units of Dipole Moment?
The unit of dipole moment is the Debye (D). In the International System of Units (SI), it can also be expressed in coulomb-meters (C·m).

1 Debye is equivalent to \( 3.336 \times 10^{-29} \) C·m.

#### (i) How Dipole Moment Values Help in Predicting the Shapes of Covalent Molecules
Dipole moment values are crucial in predicting the shapes of covalent molecules because they provide information about the distribution of charge within the molecule.

- If the resultant dipole moment (\( \mu \)) of a molecule is equal to 0, it indicates that the molecule has a symmetrical shape, leading to a cancellation of dipole moments in different directions. This often corresponds to geometries like linear, tetrahedral, or octahedral.

- Conversely, if the resultant dipole moment is not equal to 0, it suggests that the molecule has an asymmetrical shape, which means that the dipole moments do not cancel out. This can indicate irregular geometries, such as bent or trigonal pyramidal shapes.