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JEE Main 2016 · Chemistry · Chemical Bonding and Molecular Structure · medium

The number of molecules with zero net dipole moment among BF3, CO2, XeF4, SF6, NF3, PCl5, cis-1,2-dichloroethene and CCl4 is

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The number of molecules with zero net dipole moment among BF3\mathrm{BF_3}, CO2\mathrm{CO_2}, XeF4\mathrm{XeF_4}, SF6\mathrm{SF_6}, NF3\mathrm{NF_3}, PCl5\mathrm{PCl_5}, cis-1,2-dichloroethene and CCl4\mathrm{CCl_4} is
  1. A. 5
  2. B. 7
  3. C. 6
  4. D. 4
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Answer: (C) 6

A molecule is non-polar when its bond dipoles cancel by symmetry. BF3\mathrm{BF_3} (trigonal planar), CO2\mathrm{CO_2} (linear), XeF4\mathrm{XeF_4} (square planar), SF6\mathrm{SF_6} (octahedral), PCl5\mathrm{PCl_5} (trigonal bipyramidal) and CCl4\mathrm{CCl_4} (tetrahedral) are all symmetric with zero dipole moment. NF3\mathrm{NF_3} (pyramidal, lone pair) is polar, and cis-1,2-dichloroethene has both C-Cl dipoles on the same side, so it is polar (the trans isomer is non-polar). Total =6=6.
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