Is Acetone a Polar or Non-Polar Molecule?

First off, the definition of a Polar Molecule is, the molecule has a difference in the negativity between the atoms and the definition of a Non-Polar Molecule is, the molecule has an equal negativity between the atoms. According to the negativity values stated above, there is a difference with both the Oxygen to Carbon bond and the Carbon to Hydrogen bonds. This difference leads to the conclusion that Acetone is indeed a Polar Molecule!



Math:



Oxygen (3.6)-Carbon (2.6)= Difference (1.0)



Carbon (2.6)-Hydrogen(2.2)= Difference (0.4)



Another way to discover if this molecule is Polar or Non-Polar is by seeing if there is an imbalance in electron distribution. Oxygen naturally has 2 unshared pairs of electrons because of the 6 valence electrons. Because Carbon and Hydrogen do not have any unshared pairs of electrons due to the 4 valence and 1 valence electron, there is an imbalance in the electron distribution. Therefore, Acetone is a Polar Molecule!