MOLECULAR POLARITYFIELD NOTE 141 / 175
Is NH3 polar or nonpolar?
NH3 is polar because nitrogen’s lone pair makes the molecule pyramidal and its N–H bond dipoles do not cancel.
Ammonia · trigonal pyramidal
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 NH3 is polar
In ammonia, nitrogen (3.04) is more electronegative than hydrogen (2.20), creating polar N–H bonds.
What to notice
Nitrogen's lone pair makes NH3 pyramidal rather than planar. The three N–H bond dipoles therefore have a nonzero vector sum.
Common questions about NH3
- 01
What does the Lewis structure of NH3 show?
N forms three N–H single bonds and keeps one lone pair. That lone pair changes the molecular shape from planar to pyramidal.
- 02
What is the molecular geometry of NH3?
NH3 has a trigonal pyramidal molecular geometry. The 3D model shows representative bond angles of 106°. These angles come from the displayed model coordinates.
- 03
What is the molar mass of NH3?
NH3 has an approximate molar mass of 17.03 g/mol, calculated from its formula using abridged standard atomic weights. Natural isotope variation can change the last digits.