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the higher the polarity on a functional group, the more reactive it is. If a functional group is non-polar, it doesn't react with anything without a LOT of energy.

For example: a hydrophobic functional group would avoid water at all cost, because it is non-polar, whereas water is polar. Try not to think of this as a "likes repel" sort of thing, but rather that a non-polar functional group is one that has no charge on it, and a polar group has a (+) or (-) charge. While it is true that two (+)'s will repel each other, if there is a (+) functional group, there is likely a (-) one on the other side, which would cause the molecule to flip around and bond that way.

Essentially, polarity of a functional group functions as the + or - charge used to bond to the opposite charge of another molecule/functional group.

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15y ago

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