Originally posted by santaslayer
1. without water; especially water of crystallization
So, taking an example, anhydrous copper(II) sulfate = CuSO<sub>4</sub>, a white solid
hydrated copper(II) sulfate = CuSO<sub>4</sub>.5H<sub>2</sub>O, a blue solid
As for polar / non-polar, it is used in relation to molecules and bonds. An object is polar if it has an unequal distribution of charge, such that one end is appreciably positive, and the other appreciably negative. A covalent bond will be polar if there is a sufficiently large difference in electronegativity between the two atoms involved in the bond - for example, a C-H bond is non-polar, but an O-H bond is polar - the O slightly negative and the H slightly positive.
A molecule will be polar if it has polar bonds and its geometry is such that the individual bond dipoles reinforce.
For example, CO<sub>2</sub> has polar C=O bonds, but since it is linear, the individual bond dipoles cancel one another's effects, leaving a net non-polar molecule.
By contrast, SO<sub>2</sub> is bent, and so the bond dipoles of the polar S=O bonds reinforce, producing a net polar molecule.
There is no HSC case of a substance being polar in the absence of polar bonds.