Asked by Fakie

Consider a hydrogen chloride (HCI) molecule in which direction will the electron cloud shift

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
The electron cloud is shifted toward the chlorine atom. Chlorine is more electronegative than hydrogen (Pauling EN: Cl ≈ 3.0–3.2, H ≈ 2.1), so the shared bonding electrons are pulled closer to Cl. As a result Cl acquires a partial negative charge (δ–) and H a partial positive charge (δ+), and the H–Cl bond is polar (dipole directed from H toward Cl).

(If you meant an applied external electric field instead: the electron cloud shifts opposite the field direction — i.e., toward the positive electrode.)