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Overview

Overview

Monomer & Polymer of Lipids

Monomer: Fatty Acid Tails (which have hydrophobic tails and hydrophilic heads)

Polymer: Have NO GENERAL NAME; but are fats, oils, waxes which are all insoluble molecules

Found in food that are rich in fat (ie. meat, butter, oil, lard, etc.

FUNCTIONS

  • Provides padding for vital organs 

  • Insulation and acts as 'blubber'

  • Used as LONG TERM energy storage (stores energy is a small space/molecule)

  • Makes up structures like the cell membrane 

  • Used as chemical messengers in the body (ie. steroid hormones)

1. Fatty ACIDS

Saturated Fatty Acids

  • A LONG CHAIN of oxygen, Carbon and Hydrogen molecules that end in -COOH group!

  • Saturated fatty acids have NO DOUBLE BOND BETWEEN CARBON

  • These fatty acids are solid at room temperature since (because their lack of a double bond) allows them to pack tightly together 

  • These fats are BAD FATS that can lead to plaque buildup an cause heart disease and strokes

    • Found in REALLY high fat iems like meat, fat, lard and butter

HAVE LINEAR STRUCTURES AND A -COOH ACID GROUP!

2. Neutral Fats (Triglycerides)

Hover to learn more!

Structure & Formation

  • Formed through DEHYDRATION SYNTHESIS 

  • Made up of a glycerol molecule and 3 fatty acid tails​​

  • Non-charged, non-polar molecules 

    • ONLY SUSPEND USING SOAP​

    • HAS HYDROLPHILIC AND HYDROPHOBIC SIDES

Hover to learn more about soap!

Emulsification Process

  • Soap is made from a base and fatty acid

  • It has a HYDROPHOBIC TAIL (attract to nonpolar molecules) and HYDROPHILIC HEAD (attract to polar molecules)

  • The hydrophobic tail is attracted to the nonpolar end of oil or wax and the hydrophilic head attaches to the polar water molecules that surround the oil 

  • In water this allows the oil to dispersed or removed and this simple process is known as emulsification.

3. Phospholipids 

STRUCTURE 

  • Components of cell membranes 

    • Have HYDROPHILIC HEADS (polar loving) and HYDROPHOBIC TAILS (nonpolar loving)

    • This allows them to orient themselves into a strong bilayer layer of the cell membrane called the Phospholipid Bilayer

  • The bilayer functions to regular molecules that are entering and leaving through the cell membrane into the cell â€‹

  • Composed of 2 fatty acid tails, a glycerol molecule, phosphate group and a CHARGED NITROGEN ION

4. Steriods

  • Hormones made from CHOLESTEROL

  • Helps send chemical messages around the body 

  • Have MULTI-RINGED STRUCTURES

  • Cholesterol is an essential molecule that forms cell membranes

  • Dietary cholesterol forms plaque in arteries leading to health issues 

  • Avoid heavy amounts of meat, fish, poultry, and dairy products in order to consume no more than 150 mg of cholesterol

STRUCTURE 

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