According to VBT any covalent bond will be formed by overlapping of atomic orbitals of bonded atoms — Chemical Bonding Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

Step 1: Determine the geometry of water (H2O). It is sp3 hybridized with two bonding pairs and two lone pairs, resulting in a bent shape. Step 2: Because of its asymmetrical bent geometry, the individual polar O-H bond dipoles do not cancel each other out, which gives the molecule a net non-zero dipole moment (mu > 0). Step 3: Therefore, the statement that the molecule has mu = 0 is incorrect, which corresponds to option (a).