On the left hand side we have hydrochloric acid with an electrostatic potential map and on the right hand side we have chlorine with an electrostatic potential map. The red part of the electrostatic potential map is electron rich, the blue is electron poor and the green is neutral. Here we are looking molecules that have covalent bonds since the electrons are shared between the two atoms. In ionic bonds it is not about sharing but transfer of electrons from the one atom to the other. Both the hydrocloric acid and chlorine molecules are covalent but they are different. In the case of the hydrochlorid acid, the electrons forming the bond are not equally shared between the two atoms but the chlorine side is more electron rich than the hydrogen side since the chlorine ion is more electronegative than hydrogen. In the case of the chlorine molecule, the electrons froming the bonds are equally shared between the two chlorine atoms since their electronegativities are the same.
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