Answer to Question #328939 in Inorganic Chemistry for Pinky

Question

Note on symmetry properties of molecule: molecular polarity, chirality and optical activity

Answer 1

In chemistry, polarity is a separation of electric charge leading to a molecule or its chemical groups having an electric dipole moment, with a negatively charged end and a positively charged end. Polar molecules must contain one or more polar bonds due to a difference in electronegativity between the bonded atoms.

In chemistry, a molecule or ion is called chiral. if it cannot be superposed on its mirror image by any combination of rotations, translations, and some conformational changes. This geometric property is called chirality.

Optical activity, the ability of a substance to rotate the plane of polarization of a beam of light that is passed through it.