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A chemistry student needs to determine the dipole moment of a molecule that has three atoms arranged in a linear fashion, where the central atom is a carbon atom and the other two atoms are chlorine atoms. The student must also explain the factors that contribute to the dipole moment of the molecule.

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To determine the dipole moment of a molecule with three atoms arranged in a linear fashion, where the central atom is a carbon atom and the other two atoms are chlorine atoms  C-Cl-Cl , the student needs to consider the electronegativity of the atoms involved and the bond lengths between them.The dipole moment    is a measure of the separation of positive and negative charges in a molecule. It is calculated using the formula: = Q  dwhere Q is the charge difference between the atoms, and d is the distance between the atoms.In the case of the C-Cl-Cl molecule, the electronegativity values for carbon  C  and chlorine  Cl  are 2.55 and 3.16, respectively. Since chlorine is more electronegative than carbon, the electrons in the C-Cl bond will be more attracted to the chlorine atoms, creating a dipole moment in the direction of the chlorine atoms.However, since the molecule is linear and symmetrical, the two C-Cl bonds will have equal and opposite dipole moments, which will cancel each other out. As a result, the net dipole moment of the C-Cl-Cl molecule will be zero.Factors that contribute to the dipole moment of a molecule include:1. Electronegativity difference: The greater the difference in electronegativity between the atoms in a bond, the larger the dipole moment will be.2. Bond length: The longer the bond length, the larger the dipole moment will be, as the charges are separated by a greater distance.3. Molecular geometry: The shape of the molecule plays a crucial role in determining the net dipole moment. In symmetrical molecules, the individual bond dipoles may cancel each other out, resulting in a net dipole moment of zero, as seen in the C-Cl-Cl molecule. In contrast, asymmetrical molecules may have a net dipole moment due to the unequal distribution of charges.

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