In a hydrogen-fluoride molecule, what does the large dipole towards fluorine indicate?

In a hydrogen-fluoride molecule, the large dipole towards fluorine indicates that fluorine has a much higher electronegativity compared to hydrogen. This means that fluorine has a strong ability to attract the shared electrons in the covalent bond. As a result, the shared electrons are drawn closer to the fluorine atom, leading to a partial negative charge (δ-) on the fluorine atom and a corresponding partial positive charge (δ+) on the hydrogen atom. This unequal sharing of electrons creates a dipole moment, which is a measure of the separation of positive and negative charges in the molecule.

In summary, the strong attraction of fluorine for the shared electrons is the reason why the dipole resides toward fluorine, making the statement about fluorine's attraction to the shared electrons significantly accurate. This characteristic of fluorine contributes to its behavior in chemical reactions and its interactions with other molecules.