Find the electronegativity difference

Question

What is the electronegativity difference of CH₃OH?

Carbon=2.5 Hydrogen=2.1 Oxygen=3.5



a. 1.1

b. 5

c. 0.9

d. none of the above

Answer 1

It depends at which bond we are looking:

For the C–O bond: EN Diff = EN_C – EN_O = 2.5 – 3.5 = 1.0

For the C–H bonds: EN Diff = EN_C – EN_H = 2.5 – 2.1 = 0.4

For the O–H bond: EN Diff = EN_O – EN_H = 3.5 – 2.1 = 1.4

No matter the bond, none of the given numerical answer choices is correct, so D must be correct.