The majority of the negative charge in a water molecule is located around the oxygen atom. This is because oxygen is significantly more electronegative than hydrogen, meaning it attracts the shared electrons in the covalent O-H bonds more strongly. As a result, the oxygen atom acquires a partial negative charge (δ−), while the hydrogen atoms have partial positive charges (δ+). This uneven distribution of electron density makes the water molecule polar, with the negative charge concentrated near the oxygen and positive charges near the hydrogens