Final answer:
Lipids are hydrophobic and insoluble in water due to their non-polar nature, making the statement false. Some lipids also have hydrophilic properties, which makes them amphipathic, but this does not make them soluble in water.
Step-by-step explanation:
The main chemical characteristic that lipids share is that they are hydrophobic, or insoluble in water. This is false because lipids are not soluble in water; instead, they are known to be insoluble in water due to their non-polar nature. Lipids, which include fats, phospholipids, waxes, and sterols, are characterized by their long alkyl groups which impart a hydrophobic or lipophilic character to the lipids. However, many lipids, such as those in cell membranes, also possess a polar and/or ionic group that can be hydrophilic, meaning "water-loving," as in the case of phospholipids that have both hydrophilic (polar) heads and hydrophobic (nonpolar) tails, making them amphipathic.