What is electronegativity, and how does it affect interactions between water molecules?
Answer
Electronegativity is the attraction of an atom for the electrons of a covalent bond.
Because oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, the oxygen atom in H2O pulls electrons toward itself, resulting in a partial negative charge on the oxygen atom and partial positive charges on the hydrogen atoms.
Atoms in neighboring water molecules with opposite partial charges are attracted to each other, forming a hydrogen bond.
