MOLECULAR POLARITYFIELD NOTE 79 / 175
Is CH3I polar or nonpolar?
CH3I is polar because the iodine substituent breaks the four-way symmetry of methane.
Iodomethane · tetrahedral at C
The molecule in space
Drag to turn the molecule. Show angles to read the model geometry.
01 / MODEL RECORDPubChem 3D coordinates. Atom sizes and bond thickness are illustrative.How model data is used ↗
Why CH3I is polar
Iodine and carbon do not share electrons equally in the C–I bond. The three remaining substituents are hydrogen, so the bond contributions around tetrahedral carbon are not equivalent and the molecular dipole does not vanish.
What to notice
CH3I is polar even though iodine is less electronegative than fluorine. The question is whether the whole molecule has a nonzero dipole.
Common questions about CH3I
- 01
What does the Lewis structure of CH3I show?
Carbon has three C–H single bonds and one C–I single bond. Iodine has three lone pairs.
- 02
What is the molecular geometry of CH3I?
CH3I has a tetrahedral at C molecular geometry. The 3D model shows representative bond angles of 111.1° and 107.8°. These angles come from the displayed model coordinates.
- 03
What is the molar mass of CH3I?
CH3I has an approximate molar mass of 141.94 g/mol, calculated from its formula using abridged standard atomic weights. Natural isotope variation can change the last digits.