Lipids Flashcards
Lipids are a diverse…
group of chemicals.
Most common are…
triglycerides = fats(solid) and oils (liquid)
Lipids contain elements….
C,H and O
Triglycerides are made of…
three fatty acid molecules and one glycerol molecule
Fatty acids have…
-COOH group attached
Glycerol is…
alcohol.
Fatty acids joins to glycerol by…
condensation, forming ester bonds between two C. The final product is glyceride.
Properties of triglycerides
- insoluble in water
- soluble in organic solutions e.g. ethanol or chloroform
- non-polar and hydrophobic
Why is triglyceride soluble in organic solution?
Due to the long hydrocarbon tails of fatty acids.
Roles of triglycerides
- energy reserve
- insulator
- buoyancy (whales)
- metabolic source of water (desert kangaroo rat)
Why the triglycerides are good energy reserve?
Contain many C-H bonds, more than carbs.
Unsaturated lipids
- have double bond between neighboring carbon atoms
- do not contain the maximum possible amount of H
- double bond make lipids melt more easily
Saturated lipids
- no double bond
- animal lipids
Double bond in unsaturated fatty acids causes…
bending.
Phospholipids
- each molecule has one end which is soluble in water
- one of the fatty acids is replaced by phosphate group(hydrophilic head)
- hydrophobic tails