Lipids are bound by non-polar _______ bonds.

• A. Ionic
• B. Peptide
• C. Covalent
• D. Hydrogen

Answer: (C)

Lipids are built from long hydrocarbon chains where electrons are shared in covalent bonds between carbon and hydrogen (and carbon–carbon). This sharing produces bonds that are effectively nonpolar, giving lipids their characteristic hydrophobic, nonpolar nature. Ionic bonds rely on full charge differences, which lipids don’t have. Hydrogen bonds require polar regions and specific donor–acceptor relationships that aren’t the primary linkages in lipids. Peptide bonds are the link between amino acids in proteins, not lipids. So the best description is covalent bonds, which are the actual bonds tying lipid atoms together and creating their nonpolar character.