Biological molecules - Lipids Flashcards
(12 cards)
draw a glycerol molecule.
on paper you muppet
describe the structure of most lipids and what bonds are formed betweeen them.
(remember this isnt the same structure for all lipids, but only most - you’ll see later)
they are made up of a glycerol molecule with 3 fatty acid chains attached to its 3 OH groups, forming ester bonds.
descrie the structure of fatty acid chains.
and draw an example structure.
they consist of a hydrocarbon chain with a carboxylic acid group on the end.
on paper
what are saturated fatty acid chains. and give their chemical formula.
they are chains with a single carbon-carbon bond only.
- formula - CnH2nO2
(ps. the 2n by the hydrogen should also be lower down)
what are mono-saturated and poly-saturated fatty acids.
mono-saturated - have 1 double carbon-carbon bond
poly-saturated acids have multiple double carbon-carbon bonds.
Give 3 examples of the key types of lipids.
Triglyceries.
Phospholipids
Steroids.
describe the structure of a triglyceride.
3 fatty acid chains (tails) attached to a glycerol molecule. with an ester bond.
describe the function of triglycerides.
used for insulation and as energy storage.
describe the structure of phospholipids.
a phosphate head and 2 fatty acid chains (tails) bonded to a glycerol molecule.
here the phosphate head is hydrophillic and the 2 fatty acid chains are hydrophobic.
describe the structure of phospholipids
the main components of cell membranes.
- with the hydrophillic phosphate head pointing outwards to the water and the hydrophobic tails point inwards
towards each other.
- this structure forms the phospholipid bilayer.
Describe the strucutre of steroids. give 3 examples
they contain 4 carbon rings.
eg - oestrogen, testosterone and cholesterol.
describe the functions of cholesterol.
cholesterol - the steroid hormone - is the starting material for other steroid hormones like oestrogen and testosterone
- also its a key component of cell membranes - it regulates the fluidity allowing for movement.
