Lipids Flashcards
Are lipids polymers
NO ( instead they are made from a variety of different components but they all contain hydrocarbons )
Describe the structure of a triglyceride
1 molecule of glycerol joined to 3 fatty acids
( condensation reaction )
Describe the feature of tails in a triglyceride
Long tails made of hydrocarbons
Tails are hydrophobic
Making lipids insoluble in water
What part of fatty acids vary between each other
The hydrocarbon tail
What are the 2 types of fatty acids
Saturated
Unsaturated
What makes a fatty acid saturated
They don’t have any double bonds between their carbon atoms. This makes the fatty acid saturated with hydrogen
What makes a fatty acid unsaturated
They have a double bond between carbon atoms, which causes the chain to kink
How are triglycerides formed ?
Condensation reaction
Ester bond forms between the 2 molecules
Releases a water molecule
This happens 2 more times to form a triglyceride
Where would a phospholipid be found
cell membrane
Describe the structure of a phospholipid
Similar to triglyceride, except 1 fatty acid is replaced by a phosphate group
Is the phosphate group hydrophilic or hydrophobic
hydrophilic
Is the fatty acid tail hydrophilic or hydrophibic
hydrophobic
Triglycerides are energy storage molecules, why is being insoluble in water important
Doesn’t effect the water potential of the cell, and causes water to enter by osmosis ( which would make them swell )
Why are triglycerides good energy storage molecules
Long hydrocarbon tails contain lots of chemical energy, and lots of energy is released when they are broken down
How do triglycerides bundle together
As insoluble droplets in cells
