A water molecule (Figure P23.43) has a dipole moment of (6.19 times 10^{-30} mathrm{C} cdot mathrm{m}). If

Question:

A water molecule (Figure P23.43) has a dipole moment of $6.19 \times 10^{-30} \mathrm{C} \cdot \mathrm{m}$. If the $\mathrm{O}-\mathrm{H}$ bonds were ionic bonds (in reality they are polar covalent bonds), the electrons from the two hydrogen atoms would be completely transferred to the oxygen atom. Using the measured dipole moment and the fact that the centers of positive and negative charge are $0.058 \mathrm{~nm}$ apart, can you rule out the hypothesis that the $\mathrm{O}-\mathrm{H}$ bonds are ionic?

Data from Figure P23.43

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