Are the following polar, nonpolar, or ionic (i know what polar and nonpolar mean but i cant figure out how...?

you have to draw the dots that represent valence electrons, and connect them using the covalent bonds. look up the electronegativity for each, and if it is even, then it is nonpolar, if it is not even, then it is polar. if it is polar it will have a slightly positive/ slightly negative charge. only molecular compounds can be polar and nonpolar. ionic compounds are formed by one of the elements being an anion and the other being a cation.

First you have to separate out the ionic ones. These will ionize in water, like the salt NaCl. So in the above list I think only hypochlorus acid is an ionic molecule, as are salts and bases (not counting ions themselves as ionic). The rest don't ionize, they stay together. The next step is whether the attached atoms are the same or not. If yes, then it is probably non-polar( O2, N2....) If there are different kinds of atoms then you have to take the shape into account. To figure out whether a molecule is polar, imagine holding a positive or negative charge near the molecule. Is the molecule attracted with one part more that the other or is it equally likely to be attracted in several ways (sort of) Looking at the 3 dimensional shape ( sometimes it can be figured out just from a 2-dimensional view. For example water: O / \ H H As you can see the O end is negative and the end with 2 H's is positive so it is polar Ammonia NH3 - the 3-dimensional shape has 3 Hs sticking down below the N so the N end is negative and the 3 Hs is positive - polar Ammonium ion - the 3-dimensional shape has 4 Hs pointed equally in 4 directions so there is no negative end so it is not polar. You can't just say separation of charge - it has to have a separation of charge along a specific line. The ammonia in the middle is "separated" from the Hs but that is the same in every direction since the molecule is symmetric. nonpolar.

First you have to separate out the ionic ones. These will ionize in water, like the salt NaCl. So in the above list I think only hypochlorus acid is an ionic molecule, as are salts and bases (not counting ions themselves as ionic). The rest don't ionize, they stay together. The next step is whether the attached atoms are the same or not. If yes, then it is probably non-polar( O2, N2....) If there are different kinds of atoms then you have to take the shape into account. To figure out whether a molecule is polar, imagine holding a positive or negative charge near the molecule. Is the molecule attracted with one part more that the other or is it equally likely to be attracted in several ways (sort of) Looking at the 3 dimensional shape ( sometimes it can be figured out just from a 2-dimensional view. For example water: O / \ H H As you can see the O end is negative and the end with 2 H's is positive so it is polar Ammonia NH3 - the 3-dimensional shape has 3 Hs sticking down below the N so the N end is negative and the 3 Hs is positive - polar Ammonium ion - the 3-dimensional shape has 4 Hs pointed equally in 4 directions so there is no negative end so it is not polar. You can't just say separation of charge - it has to have a separation of charge along a specific line. The ammonia in the middle is "separated" from the Hs but that is the same in every direction since the molecule is symmetric. nonpolar.

1 - Polar, as the shape of water is not symmetrical; it is a V shape. This allows the hydrogen's to be attracted to other oxygen molecules in water, and thus, the difference is polar. 2 - Non-polar. This is a symmetrical shape, and has no differences in electronegativity. 3 - Nonpolar, same as #2 4 - Polar 5 - Nonpolar, same as #2 6 - Polar, as it has an extra Hydrogen bonded somewhere, giving it hydrogen bonding opportunities. 7 - Nonpolar, same as #2 8 - Same as #2 9 - Same as #2 10 - Same as #2 11 - I'm not sure about this one.

One way to tell, at least about biological substances, is: anything that contains an O or an N covalently bonded to another atom is polar. This is true because O and N are electronegative atoms, that is, they hog the electrons that they are sharing. This means that at any instant the shared electrons are closer to the O or the N than to the other atom. And since electrons are negatively charged, that end of the covalent bond is slightly negative, and the other end is correspondingly slightly positive. So, you have to write out the formula for each of the substances (on paper or in your mind) and see which contain an O or an N covalently bonded to another atom. And those are polar. If there are no oxygen or nitrogen atoms, then it is most likely non-polar. Of course, if it has a full charge - because it has lost or gained a whole electron, then it is ionic.

One way to tell, at least about biological substances, is: anything that contains an O or an N covalently bonded to another atom is polar. This is true because O and N are electronegative atoms, that is, they hog the electrons that they are sharing. This means that at any instant the shared electrons are closer to the O or the N than to the other atom. And since electrons are negatively charged, that end of the covalent bond is slightly negative, and the other end is correspondingly slightly positive. So, you have to write out the formula for each of the substances (on paper or in your mind) and see which contain an O or an N covalently bonded to another atom. And those are polar. If there are no oxygen or nitrogen atoms, then it is most likely non-polar. Of course, if it has a full charge - because it has lost or gained a whole electron, then it is ionic.

1 - Polar, as the shape of water is not symmetrical; it is a V shape. This allows the hydrogen's to be attracted to other oxygen molecules in water, and thus, the difference is polar. 2 - Non-polar. This is a symmetrical shape, and has no differences in electronegativity. 3 - Nonpolar, same as #2 4 - Polar 5 - Nonpolar, same as #2 6 - Polar, as it has an extra Hydrogen bonded somewhere, giving it hydrogen bonding opportunities. 7 - Nonpolar, same as #2 8 - Same as #2 9 - Same as #2 10 - Same as #2 11 - I'm not sure about this one.