Lipids are naturally occuring molecules that are defined by their solubility in non-polar solvents and poor solublity in aqueous solvents.What type of lipid is the following molecule?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Let’s break down what is depicted in the molecule. The figure shows a glycerol backbone with three ester bonds to long hydrocarbon chains, each chain ending in a hydrocarbon tail. This arrangement—three fatty acid chains esterified to a glycerol molecule—is the classic structure of a triglyceride.

Option a. Triglyceride: This is the correct classification because triglycerides are formed by the esterification of glycerol with three fatty acids, matching the three ester linkages and long aliphatic tails shown. The overall molecule is highly nonpolar and hydrophobic, which aligns with the definition of naturally occurring lipids solubility in nonpolar solvents.

Option b. Phosphoglyceride: Phosphoglycerides contain a phosphate-containing head group (phospholipids) attached to the glycerol backbone, typically with one fatty acid replaced by a phosphate-containing moiety. The image lacks a phosphate group or a polar head group, so this is not a phosphoglyceride.

Option c. Wax: Waxes are typically esters of long-chain fatty acids with long-chain alcohols, forming very long, often crystalline esters. While they are also lipids, the displayed molecule has three fatty acid chains on glycerol rather than a single fatty acid linked to a fatty alcohol, which does not fit the common wax structure.

Option d. Steroid: Steroids have a fused four-ring skeleton (cyclopentanoperhydrophenanthrene) and do not contain glycerol with fatty acid esters. The pictured structure is not a steroid.

Option e. Turpene: Terpenes (turpene is an older spelling) are built from isoprene units and have carbon skeletons distinct from glycerol-based triacylglycerol structures; they do not feature the glycerol backbone with three fatty acid esters shown here.

In summary, the molecule’s three fatty acid chains esterified to a glycerol backbone best fits the definition of a triglyceride, while the other lipid types have distinct structural features not present in the diagram.

My LMS Subjects Quiz 3

Lipids are naturally occuring molecules that are defined by their solubility in non-polar solvents and poor solublity in aqueous solvents.What type of lipid is the following molecule?

查看解析

登录即可查看完整答案

类似问题

When the human body burns fat, all acids esterify to:

This is a picture of the most common type of lipid in your body! As you can see in the picture, this fat has a glycerol backbone bonded to three fatty acids. This molecule is called...

A compound composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with three fatty acids attached to a molecule of glycerol would be known as a

What is the primary form of lipid in the diet?

A triglyceride molecule (the main component of fat)

A triglyceride (also known as a triacylglycerol)

This is a picture of the most common type of lipid in your body! As you can see in the picture, this fat has a glycerol backbone bonded to three fatty acids. This molecule is called...

The most prominent type of fat in food and in the human body is:

更多留学生实用工具

考试浏览器助手

风格化写作助手

论文查重助手

文献引用助手

课堂转译助手

课堂笔记助手

Quiz搜索助手

学校历年真题

智能刷题助手

智能匹配练习

希望你的学习变得更简单