What is the difference between hydrophillic and hydrophobic molecules?

Charged or polar molecules such as salts, sugars and amino acids dissolve readily in water and so are called hydrophilic ("water loving"). Uncharged or non-polar molecules such as lipids do not dissolve so well in water and are called hydrophobic ("water hating").

AP
Answered by Asya P. Biology tutor

14915 Views

See similar Biology A Level tutors

Related Biology A Level answers

All answers ▸

Describe the role of the Loop of Henle


How does an action potential travel between two neurones?


What is the difference between competitive and non-competitive inhibition?


Using the Hardy Weinberg principle, calculate the frequency of the heterozygous genotype in the population if the frequency of the dominant allele p is 0.864. Express your answer as a percentage of the population.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning