Hydrophobic effect

Okay kiddo, the hydrophobic effect might sound like a big and complicated word, but it's actually really simple. You see, water is a special kind of molecule that loves to stick to itself. We call this "sticky" property of water as being "polar".

Now, hydrophobic things are objects that don't like to stick to water. Instead, they prefer to stick to themselves just like how magnets stick to each other. This is because they are "non-polar" which means they don't have any uneven charges or poles like the polar water molecule does.

So, when hydrophobic things are put into water, the water molecules around them start to rearrange themselves to make themselves as comfortable as they can. The water molecules will stick together and form a shield-like structure around the hydrophobic object, kind of like how we hold hands to form a circle around something we want to protect.

This "shield" is formed to protect the hydrophobic object from being dissolved in water, as this would make the water molecules uncomfortable. This is the hydrophobic effect!

So, in summary, the hydrophobic effect is the way that water molecules react when they come into contact with something that doesn't like to mix with water, by forming a protective shield around it.