Hi Sama,

A polar molecule could be as a result of unequal dipole moments or charges, whereas a dipole moment is the unequal sharing of electrons between two atoms. They are not interchangeable.

For instance, CCl4 has 4 dipole moments (C-Cl bonds), but it is not a polar molecule, since all of the dipoles cancel each other out.

Hope this helps! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask again! :)

Hey,

Dipole refers to the charge distribution formed between the unequal sharing of electrons between atoms. For example, there is a dipole moment between the C and O in methanol (CH3OH).

Polar is more of a descriptor to say that a molecule possesses an overall uncancelled dipole moment or unequal distribution of charge (could be full out +/-). For example, methanol is a polar molecule as it has this dipole moment. A molecule containing positive and negative charges on the same molecule would also be considered polar (even more polar than something like methanol).

In summary, polarity refers to a molecule as a whole, while dipole refers to individual bonds, as Molly had mentioned with CCl4.