Answer to Question #248501 in General Chemistry for joe

Question

A hypothetical molecule, X–Y, has a dipole moment of 1.07 D

1.07 D and a bond length of 147 pm.

147 pm.

Calculate the percent ionic character of this molecule

Answer 1

All of this must be done using the correct units (cgs-esu), recognizing that 1 Debye = 1x10^-18 esu cm and that the charge on the electron is 4.80 x 10^-10 esu.

So, in this case, you have (after doing the needed conversions):

% ionic character = (1.83 x 10^-18 esu cm)/{(4.8 x 10^-10 esu)x(1.11x10^-8 cm)} x 100

100x{1.83/(4.8x1.11) = 34.3 %