MOLECULAR POLARITYFIELD NOTE 85 / 175
Is CH4 polar or nonpolar?
CH4 is a nonpolar molecule because its perfect tetrahedral symmetry causes all four C–H bond dipoles to cancel completely.
Methane · tetrahedral
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 CH4 is nonpolar
Methane has a perfect tetrahedral shape with all four C–H bonds pointing symmetrically in different directions.
What to notice
The C–H bonds are arranged equivalently around carbon. Their vector sum is zero even if an individual bond has a slight charge imbalance.
Common questions about CH4
- 01
What does the Lewis structure of CH4 show?
C forms four C–H single bonds and has no lone pairs. Each H shares one pair of electrons with carbon.
- 02
What is the molecular geometry of CH4?
CH4 has a tetrahedral molecular geometry. The 3D model shows representative bond angles of 109.5°. These angles come from the displayed model coordinates.
- 03
What is the molar mass of CH4?
CH4 has an approximate molar mass of 16.04 g/mol, calculated from its formula using abridged standard atomic weights. Natural isotope variation can change the last digits.