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Home Q & A Board Biology-Related Homework Help General Biology
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John421 John421
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8 years ago

I've seen a number of sources claim that hydrophobic (non polar) molecules and hydrophilic (polar) molecules repel each other.

Would it be more correct to say that: they don't really repel each other, and it's just that polar molecules and non polar molecules are just not attracted to each other. That polar molecules are attracted to other polar molecules, and so they don't mix because they just prefer to bond with themselves instead of each other. I don't know why this would be described as "repelling".
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#1
8 years ago
Yes, I think that a chemist would say it kind of the way that you do. The inter molecular forces that are termed "hydrophilic" are very strong (usually dipole-dipole interactions as well as Hydrogen bonding, all on top of van der waals forces) while those of nonpolar substances, the so called hydrophobic are very weak (van der waals or london dispersion forces only). Ironic forces and charges are also quite strong so thats the reason that ions and charged molecules solvate well
John421 Author
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#2
8 years ago
So when a biologist says that the hydrophobic centre of a phospholipid bilayer membrane repels polar molecules, what is really happening?

It is simply that the polar molecules are attracted to the polar head of the phospholipid, which stops them from progressing through the membrane? And that any other polar molecules that go near the membrane will be attracted to the polar molecule that is attracted to the head, kind of forming a wall of polar molecules?
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