∞ generated and posted on 2016.08.22 ∞
Compound or portion of a compound that possesses neither partial nor full charges.
Nonpolar molecules, or portions of those molecules, are noted for their poor ability to dissolve in water. In the molecules making up living things an absence of both oxygen and nitrogen atoms often is indicative of a lack of polarity in a molecule, or a portion of a molecule.
The fatty acid tails of both triglycerides and phospholipids are nonpolar, as too are the bulk of all of the molecules that we describe as lipids.
See also nonpolar covalent bond, contrasting polar covalent bond or ionic bond.