What determines if a molecular compound is polar or not?
In: Chemistry
The characteristic that determines polarity is called *[electronegativity](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronegativity)*, the tendency of an atom, when bonded, to pull electrons to itself.
A sufficiently high difference in electronegativity leads to the formation of an ionic bond; a sufficiently low difference in electronegativity leads to a nonpolar covalent bond.
Intermediate differences in electronegativity lead to polar covalent bonds.
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