| Polarity of water |
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Oxygen is an "electronegative" or electron "loving" atom compared with hydrogen. Water is a "polar" molecule, meaning that there is an uneven distribution of electron density. Water has a partial negative charge (δ- ) near the oxygen atom due the unshared pairs of electrons, and partial positive charges (δ+ ) near the hydrogen atoms.
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The slightly positively charged hydrogen atoms are then attracted to the slightly negatively charged oxygen atoms of other water molecules. These forces of attraction are called hydrogen bonds. The forces holding two molecules together in a hydrogen bond are much stronger than those between molecules and hydrocarbons. The attraction between hydrogen and oxygen atoms results in a much higher boiling point of water than anticipated for a different molecule with the same mass.
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